Israel frees 4 more Lebanese prisoners in a deal tied to missing Jews from Lebanon’s civil war

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — Four prisoners from Lebanon held in Israel were released and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross Friday as part of a deal between the two countries. In return, Lebanon agreed to search for the bodies of Jewish Lebanese citizens who went missing during the country’s civil war decades ago. Dozens of Lebanese prisoners are believed to be held in Israeli detention centers, including civilians as well as Hezbollah militants captured during fighting in southern Lebanon.

A total of five detainees are being released under the current deal, all civilians. The first Lebanese prisoner, identified as Malek Ghazi, was released to the International Committee of the Red Cross and then to the Lebanese army on Thursday. Associated Press journalists waiting at a checkpoint south of the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon saw a convoy of ICRC vehicles heading toward the Naqoura border crossing Friday morning.

Mahmoud Ayash, the brother of prisoner Hussein Ayash, who was waiting there, said his brother had been detained for more than two months and had called from the border crossing in Naqoura to say that he had been released and was with the ICRC. “I hope all our prisoners in Israeli prisons will be released and for all Lebanese citizens to be liberated,” he said. The ICRC said in a statement that the remaining prisoners had been transferred to it on Friday.

The organization called for its teams to be granted access to the remaining prisoners, 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 said. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Thursday that Israel agreed to release five Lebanese civilians detained by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon after Lebanon provided assistance in searching for the bodies of Lebanese Jewish leaders who were “abducted and murdered by terrorist organizations” in the 1980s, during Lebanon’s civil war.

Officials said the prisoner release came as a result of U.S. mediation and as a result of ongoing negotiations between Israel and Lebanon. Other thorny issues remain to be resolved.

Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, entered into rare direct negotiations after the out… HAROUF, Lebanon (AP) — Four prisoners from Lebanon held in Israel were released and handed over to Lebanese authorities via the International Committee of the Red Cross on Friday as part of a deal between the two countries. A total of five detainees were released under the deal, all civilians.The first Lebanese prisoner, identified as Malek Ghazi, was released to the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, and then to the Lebanese army on Thursday.Those released Friday included two Lebanese citizens and two Syrians who had been captured in Lebanon, according to two Lebanese officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.