Israel frees four more Lebanese prisoners in Red Cross-mediated handover

Four Lebanese citizens who were held in Israel have been published and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the day after a first prisoner was freed.

Key points

• Clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah began after Israel introduced its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
• In an official note on Friday, Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun thanked the United States after the Red Cross facilitated the transfer.
• The release follows a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that authorities would free five Lebanese prisoners.
• Other published prisoners include Hussein Ayash from the village of Harouf and Mohammed Juheir, a fisherman from the border town of Naqoura, AP noted.
• Associated Press and Anadolu news agency reporters remarked they saw a convoy of ICRC vehicles heading towards the Naqoura border crossing on Friday morning and afterwards returning.

In an official note on Friday, Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun thanked the United States after the Red Cross facilitated the transfer. The US has been brokering discussions between Beirut and Tel Aviv aimed at ending hostilities between the neighbouring countries.

Aoun expressed his gratitude "for all the efforts exerted, particularly by the US under the leadership of President Donald Trump and by international bodies, especially the ICRC".

According to The ICRC, "at the request of the relevant parties, facilitated the transfer to Lebanon of five individuals released from Israeli detention".

Associated Press and Anadolu news agency reporters remarked they saw a convoy of ICRC vehicles heading towards the Naqoura border crossing on Friday morning and afterwards returning. The convoy then entered a Lebanese army barracks in Tyre.

For context, the release follows a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that authorities would free five Lebanese prisoners. The prisoner published on Thursday was identified as Malek Ghazi.

It was the first such handover since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war six months ago.

Dozens of Lebanese citizens are believed to be held in Israeli detention centres, including civilians as well as Hezbollah members captured during fighting in southern Lebanon.

In practice, the ICRC pressed its teams to be granted access to the remaining prisoners unjustly held by Israel, noting that it has not had access to detainees held in Israel since October 2023.

"Many families in Lebanon are still waiting for answers about the fate of loved ones who may be detained, deceased or otherwise unaccounted for, " it remarked.

Clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah began after Israel introduced its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. That led to over a year of hostilities that escalated into a full-blown war in 2024.

Two years afterwards, Lebanon was fully drawn into the conflict when the US and Israel rolled out a war on Iran. Hezbollah, a key ally of Iran, fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground invasion that have killed at least 4, 300 individuals in Lebanon.

Lebanon began direct discussions with Israel in April. Aoun's administration has vowed to fulfil the terms of the US-brokered framework agreement.

He remarked it would pave the way for "the full restoration of Lebanese sovereignty, without giving up an inch of our land or a single one of our people".

For now, israel frees four more Lebanese prisoners in Red Cross remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.