Israel has released Lebanese civilian Malek Ghazi and pledged to free five more Lebanese detainees held by its forces in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. Ghazi was handed to the Lebanese army through the International Committee of the Red Cross at the border crossing in Naqoura.
The release is the first of a Lebanese citizen held by Israel since US-brokered negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv began in April, according to Lebanese officials and state media.
Why Israel said the five will be released
Netanyahu said Israel agreed to release the Lebanese civilians after Beirut helped search for the bodies of Lebanese Jewish leaders who were abducted and killed by armed organisations in the 1980s. He said Israeli interrogations found that the five detainees were not members of a terrorist organisation and were not involved in terrorism.
What happened after Ghazi’s handover
The International Committee of the Red Cross transferred Ghazi to Lebanese army intelligence in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. His family, from Ain Ata near Shebaa, said in October that it had lost contact with him after he went out to exercise.
Lebanon has not announced an official total of citizens held by Israel since the 2024 war with Hezbollah. Families and a committee tracking the cases have compiled a list of more than 30 people.
Lebanon’s wider demands
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam thanked the United States for its efforts and said Beirut would continue working for the release of all Lebanese prisoners, information about missing people and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
The Lebanon-Israel agreement calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the area, beginning in pilot zones. Israeli forces continued operations in southern Lebanon on Thursday, including an advance into Halta, drone flights over the Tyre region, detonations in Haddatha and Baraachit, and home demolitions in al-Mansouri, according to the National News Agency.
What happens next
Another round of Israel-Lebanon talks is expected to take place in Rome later in September, according to the reported negotiations timetable.
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