Israel Releases Lebanese Civilian and Pledges Further Prisoner Handover Amid Ongoing Conflict

Israel has released one Lebanese civilian detainee and has pledged to free five prisoners, marking the first such handover since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war six months ago.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Thursday that Israel agreed to release the Lebanese civilians held by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon after Beirut helped search for the bodies of Lebanese Jewish leaders who were “abducted and murdered by terrorist organisations” in the 1980s. Netanyahu’s statement added that after being interrogated, the five detainees were found not to be “members of a terrorist organisation” or “involved in terrorism”.

The first released prisoner, identified as Malek Ghazi, was handed over to the Lebanese army via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a Lebanese security official said. Ghazi was handed over to the ICRC at the border crossing in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Naqoura, and was subsequently transferred to a Lebanese army intelligence office in the southern port city of Tyre, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

Ghazi’s family, hailing from the southeastern town of Ain Ata near the southern border village of Shebaa, stated last October that they had lost contact with him after he went out to exercise. He is the first citizen held by Israel to be released since US-brokered negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv began in April.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam hailed the release in a statement, thanking “the American administration … for the efforts exerted in this regard”. Salam pledged to continue working “until the release of all our prisoners, the disclosure of the fate of the missing, and the achievement of a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory”.

In its last round of negotiations with Israel in August, Lebanon demanded the release of detainees held by Israel since the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese official told the AFP news agency. Lebanese authorities have not officially announced the total number of citizens held by Israel since 2024, but a list of more than 30 people has been compiled by their families and a committee following up on their cases.

Following regional escalations and subsequent US-brokered agreements, violence has slowed due to a US-Iran memorandum of understanding providing for a ceasefire in June. However, Israel continues to launch attacks across southern Lebanon, with recent operations reported in Halta village, Haddatha, Baraachit, and al-Mansouri.