Israel frees four more Lebanese prisoners in Red Cross-mediated handover

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun praises the release and thanks US President Donald Trump for his efforts.

A Red Cross convoy in southern Lebanon heading for a meeting point to receive four people detained by Israel, September 4, 2026 [AFP]

Four Lebanese citizens who were held in Israel have been released and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the day after a first prisoner was freed.

In a statement on Friday, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun thanked the United States after the Red Cross facilitated the transfer. The US has been brokering talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv aimed at ending hostilities between the neighbouring countries.

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Aoun expressed his 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 to Lebanon of five individuals released from Israeli detention”.

Associated Press and Anadolu news agency reporters said they saw a convoy of ICRC vehicles heading towards the Naqoura border crossing on Friday morning and later returning. The convoy then entered a Lebanese army barracks in Tyre.

The release follows a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that authorities would free five Lebanese prisoners.

The prisoner released on Thursday was identified as Malek Ghazi.

It was the first such handover since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war six months ago.

Other released prisoners include Hussein Ayash from the village of Harouf and Mohammed Juheir, a fisherman from the border town of Naqoura, AP reported.

Dozens of Lebanese citizens are believed to be held in Israeli detention centres, including civilians as well as Hezbollah members captured during fighting in southern Lebanon.

The ICRC called for its teams to be granted access to the remaining prisoners unjustly held by Israel, 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.

Clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah began after Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. That led to over a year of hostilities that escalated into a full-blown war in 2024.

Two years later, Lebanon was fully drawn into the conflict when the US and Israel launched a war on Iran. Hezbollah, a key ally of Iran, fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground invasion that have killed at least 4,300 people in Lebanon.

Lebanon began direct talks with Israel in April. Aoun’s government has vowed to fulfil the terms of the US-brokered framework agreement .

He said it would pave the way for “the full restoration of Lebanese sovereignty, without giving up an inch of our land or a single one of our people”.

黎巴嫩总统约瑟夫·奥恩对获释表示赞赏，并感谢美国总统唐纳德·特朗普为此所做的努力。

2026年9月4日，黎巴嫩南部一支红十字会车队前往会合点，接回四名被以色列拘留的人。[法新社]

在以色列被拘留的四名黎巴嫩公民获释并移交给红十字国际委员会（ICRC），此前一天，第一名囚犯获释。

黎巴嫩总统约瑟夫·奥恩周五发表声明，感谢美国在红十字会协助下促成此次移交。美国一直在斡旋贝鲁特和特拉维夫之间的对话，旨在结束这两个邻国之间的敌对行动。

报告称，以色列在入侵黎巴嫩期间平均每天造成7名儿童伤亡（共4条记录，此为第1条）。

以色列释放黎巴嫩平民，称将释放五名囚犯（共四条记录，此为第二条）

美国副总统万斯拒绝给出结束伊朗战争的时间表（共四项，此为第三项）

列表 4/4：在黎巴嫩南部，以色列的拆迁行动“日夜不停”进行。

奥恩对“各方所做的努力表示感谢，特别是美国总统唐纳德·特朗普领导下的美国以及国际机构，特别是红十字国际委员会所做的努力”。

红十字国际委员会证实，“应有关各方的要求，[它]协助将五名从以色列拘留所获释的人员移送至黎巴嫩”。

美联社和阿纳多卢通讯社记者称，他们周五上午看到一支红十字国际委员会的车队驶向纳库拉边境口岸，之后又返回。随后，车队进入了位于提尔的黎巴嫩军队营房。

此前，以色列总理内塔尼亚胡周四承诺，当局将释放五名黎巴嫩囚犯。

周四获释的囚犯被确认为马利克·加齐。

这是自六个月前以色列与真主党爆发最新一轮战争以来的首次此类移交。

据美联社报道，其他获释的囚犯包括来自哈鲁夫村的侯赛因·阿亚什和来自边境城镇纳库拉的渔民穆罕默德·朱海尔。

据信有数十名黎巴嫩公民被关押在以色列拘留中心，其中包括平民以及在黎巴嫩南部战斗中被俘的真主党成员。

红十字国际委员会呼吁允许其团队接触被以色列不公正关押的剩余囚犯，并指出自 2023 年 10 月以来，该组织一直无法接触被以色列拘留的人员。

声明称：“黎巴嫩许多家庭仍在等待亲人的下落，他们可能被拘留、死亡或下落不明。”

以色列军队与真主党之间的冲突始于2023年10月以色列对加沙发动种族灭绝战争之后。这导致了一年多的敌对行动，并在2024年升级为全面战争。

两年后，随着美国和以色列对伊朗发动战争，黎巴嫩也被全面卷入冲突。伊朗的重要盟友真主党向以色列发射火箭弹，以报复最高领袖阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊遇刺身亡。以色列随即发动空袭和地面入侵，造成黎巴嫩至少4300人死亡。

黎巴嫩于4月开始与以色列进行直接对话。奥恩政府誓言将履行美国斡旋达成的框架协议条款。

他表示，这将为“全面恢复黎巴嫩主权铺平道路，而无需放弃我们一寸土地或一个人民”。