Israel Releases Four More Lebanese Detainees in Red Cross-Facilitated Handover

A Red Cross convoy in southern Lebanon heading for a meeting point to receive four people detained by Israel on September 4, 2026. Four Lebanese citizens who were held in Israel have now been released and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), following the liberation of a first prisoner a day prior.

In an official statement released on Friday, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun extended his thanks to the United States after the Red Cross successfully facilitated the transfer. The US has actively brokered talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv in an effort to end ongoing hostilities between the two neighbouring nations. Aoun expressed deep gratitude “for all the efforts exerted, particularly by the US under the leadership of President Donald Trump and by international bodies, especially the ICRC”.

The ICRC confirmed that, at the request of the relevant parties, it facilitated the transfer back to Lebanon of five individuals who had been released from Israeli detention. Reporters from the Associated Press and Anadolu news agency observed a convoy of ICRC vehicles heading toward the Naqoura border crossing on Friday morning and later returning to enter a Lebanese army barracks in Tyre.

This latest release follows a pledge made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, wherein authorities committed to freeing five Lebanese prisoners. The individual freed on Thursday was identified as Malek Ghazi, marking the first such handover since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war six months prior. Other released prisoners identified include Hussein Ayash from the village of Harouf and Mohammed Juheir, a fisherman hailing from the border town of Naqoura.

Dozens of Lebanese citizens, encompassing both civilians and Hezbollah members captured during fighting in southern Lebanon, are still believed to remain in Israeli detention centres. Consequently, the ICRC has called for its teams to be granted access to the remaining prisoners unjustly held by Israel, noting that it has lacked 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,” the organization stated.

Armed clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah initially erupted after Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. This triggered over a year of persistent hostilities that eventually escalated into a full-scale war in 2024. Two years later, Lebanon was fully drawn into the broader conflict when the US and Iran-aligned groups engaged, with Hezbollah subsequently firing rockets into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel responded through air strikes and a ground invasion that have resulted in the deaths of at least 4,300 people in Lebanon.

In April, Lebanon initiated direct talks with Israel. The government of President Joseph Aoun has vowed to fulfil the terms of the US-brokered framework agreement, stating it will pave the way for the full restoration of Lebanese sovereignty without relinquishing any territory or citizens.