Conflict & Security
Israel releases five detainees to Lebanon, Red Cross says
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it transferred five people released from Israeli detention to Lebanon, with one person moved on Thursday and four more on Friday.
The ICRC said it acted at the request of the relevant parties. Israel said Thursday it had decided to release five civilian captives, freeing the first of them that day.
A Lebanese official, who was not named, said the four people transferred on Friday were two Lebanese and two Syrian nationals. Israel had freed Malek Ghazi on Thursday, after his family lost contact with him in October last year near his southeastern hometown of Ain Ata.
AFP reported that its correspondent saw three ICRC vehicles arrive on Friday from Israeli-occupied parts of southern Lebanon at the Lebanese army checkpoint in Al-Amiriya. The convoy was escorted by two Lebanese army vehicles to Tyre, where the released people were to have medical examinations and be questioned by the military.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that after interrogation was completed, it became clear the five were civilians who “have not engaged in terrorism.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun thanked the United States, President Donald Trump and the ICRC for efforts linked to the releases. He said the step reaffirmed what he called Lebanon’s firm position.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson commended Israel and Lebanon for what the spokesperson called “good faith” initial steps and said Washington hoped they would support wider discussions on civilian issues.
The five are the first people freed since Beirut called in August talks with Israel for the release of an initial group seized since the start of a 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war. Lebanese authorities have not officially announced how many citizens Israel seized during that war and a later 2026 conflict, but families and a committee working on the cases have compiled a list of more than 30 people.
After Lebanon-Israel talks in Rome last month, a Lebanese official said Israel gave Beirut a list of people whose remains it wanted returned. Netanyahu’s office said the release decision followed efforts by Israel and Lebanon to locate and return the bodies of leaders of Lebanon’s Jewish community abducted and killed during Lebanon’s civil war in the 1980s.
Lebanon began direct talks with Israel in April. Israel responded to Hezbollah strikes on Israel in March with airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people. The conflict has calmed since a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and an Israel-Lebanon framework agreement in June.
Update
The ICRC said it facilitated the transfer of five people in total, one on Thursday and four on Friday.
A Lebanese official said the four people transferred on Friday were two Lebanese and two Syrian nationals.
AFP reported seeing ICRC vehicles arrive from Israeli-occupied parts of southern Lebanon at Al-Amiriya before the released people were taken toward Tyre.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun thanked the United States and the ICRC for efforts around the releases.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson commended Israel and Lebanon and said Washington hoped the steps would support wider talks on civilian issues.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 September 2026 at 10:23:21 UTC.
Update
The Red Cross said it transferred four people released by Israel to Lebanon.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 September 2026 at 08:39:39 UTC.
Update
The United States commended Israel and Lebanon for the initial steps and said it hoped they would support wider discussions on civilian issues.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said a humanitarian operation was underway.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 20:23:02 UTC.
Update
A Lebanese official said the release of the other four civilians was postponed to Friday.
The Lebanese official said the four are two Lebanese and two Syrians.
The official said the release was a prelude to continued Lebanon-Israel talks in Rome.
The newer account says Beirut called in August talks for the release of an initial group seized since the start of the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war.
The compiled list of more than 30 people includes at least one Syrian national and several Hezbollah fighters.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 16:13:23 UTC.
Update
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency identified the returned man as Malek Ghazi.
The agency said Ghazi was taken to an army intelligence headquarters in Tyre after the handover.
Ghazi's family said in October last year that they had lost contact with him after he went out to exercise.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the release and thanked the American administration for its efforts.
The item says Ghazi is the first citizen held by Israel to be released since Lebanon-Israel negotiations began in April.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 13:10:48 UTC.
Update
Israel's prime minister's office said interrogation found the five were civilians, were not members of any terrorist organisation and had not engaged in terrorism.
The office said the move followed Israeli and Lebanese efforts to locate and return the bodies of leaders of Lebanon's Jewish community abducted and killed in the 1980s.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 13:00:37 UTC.
Update
Israel's prime minister's office said Israel was releasing five detained Lebanese civilians.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 12:43:18 UTC.
Update
An ICRC official in Jerusalem said the operation was underway, while a Lebanese military source said the man had been returned.
A committee following the issue estimates that more than 30 people have been seized by Israel since its 2024 war with Hezbollah.
A Lebanese official previously said Lebanon demanded the release of a first batch of people during its last negotiations with Israel.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 11:47:20 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Lebanese authorities have not officially announced how many citizens Israel seized during the 2024 war and the later 2026 conflict.
The Lebanese official who identified the four people transferred Friday was not named.
The exact status and identities of all people on the families’ list of more than 30 cases were not supplied.
Source
AFP news report published on .