Full story
Four more freed
Lebanon received four more Lebanese detainees released by Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a handover mediated at the border crossing at Ras al-Naqoura, with the ICRC convoy then transferring the freed prisoners to the Mansouri area south of the city of Tyre for handover to the Lebanese army.
“Lebanon on Friday received four prisoners released by Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the release of the first batch “renews confirmation of the usefulness of Lebanon’s firm position,” and he stressed that Lebanon would continue working to achieve its “full national demands and goals.”
The Anadolu Ajansı report said the ICRC convoy headed to Ras al-Naqoura on Friday and received the four detainees from the Israeli side before handing them over to the Lebanese army in the Mansouri area south of Tyre.
Al Jazeera reported that the ICRC facilitated the transfer to Lebanon of five individuals released from Israeli detention, and it said the convoy of ICRC vehicles was seen heading towards the Naqoura border crossing and later returning before entering a Lebanese army barracks in Tyre.
Names, places, and process
Anadolu Ajansı identified the earlier released prisoner as Malik Kamal Ghazi, saying KAN identified him as having been detained by Israeli forces in Ain Ata in southern Lebanon in October 2025 and that he was handed over to the Red Cross at the Naqoura crossing before being transferred to the Lebanese army for medical examinations.
The AP account in Norwalk Hour said Associated Press journalists saw a convoy of ICRC vehicles heading toward the Naqoura border crossing Friday morning and later returning, and it said the convoy then entered a Lebanese army barracks in Tyre.
Al Jazeera reported that other released prisoners included Hussein Ayash from the village of Harouf and Mohammed Juheir, a fisherman from the border town of Naqoura, and it said the release followed a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that authorities would free five Lebanese prisoners.
The National described Israeli forces abducting three residents in Halta, near the occupied Golan Heights, and it quoted local official Haitham Abdel Aal saying, “We don’t know why they took them after that, or where they are now,” even as the same day included the announcement of the five detainees to be released.
What’s at stake next
The releases were framed as part of a broader effort to resolve outstanding issues between Israel and Lebanon, with Anadolu Ajansı saying Aoun stressed that the step must be followed by completing the measures required under the trilateral framework and that “Those steps should lead to the restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty, not lacking an inch of our land and not missing a single person from our people.”
““Those steps should lead to the restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty, not lacking an inch of our land”
Norwalk Hour reported that the deal tied the prisoner releases to Lebanon’s agreement to search for the bodies of Jewish Lebanese citizens who went missing during the country’s civil war decades ago, and it said the ICRC called for its teams to be granted access to the remaining prisoners, noting it has not had access to detainees held in Israel since October 2023.
Al Jazeera said dozens of Lebanese citizens are believed to be held in Israeli detention centres, including civilians and Hezbollah members captured during fighting in southern Lebanon, and it quoted the ICRC calling for access by noting that “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 New York Times reported that the return of the Lebanese detainees was expected to allow Lebanon’s government and the Trump administration to show that the talks were having results, and it quoted Nawaf Salam calling the return of the Lebanese prisoners “an important step” while thanking the Trump administration for “efforts exerted in this regard.”