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

Israel frees 4 more Lebanese prisoners in a deal tied to missing Jews from Lebanon’s civil war 1 of 4 | A Red Cross convoy passes a Lebanese checkpoint near the border with Israel in the southern village of Mansouri, Lebanon, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) CORRECTION: A Red Cross convoy, instead of U.N. peacekeeper convoy 2 of 4 | Finnish U.N. peacekeepers patrol at a Lebanese checkpoint in the southern village of Mansouri, Lebanon, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) 3 of 4 | A Red Cross convoy escorts four released prisoners who were held in Israeli prisons as they arrive in the southern village of Mansouri, Lebanon, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) 4 of 4 | A Red Cross convoy escorts four released prisoners who were held in Israeli prisons as they arrive in the southern village of Mansouri, Lebanon, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) By Fadi Tawil and Abby Sewell Updated 11:31 AM MESZ, September 4, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Tyre, 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 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 were 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 and later return. The convoy then entered a Lebanese army barracks in Tyre. Mahmoud Ayash, the brother of prisoner Hussein Ayash from the village of Harouf, who was waiting there, said his brother had been detained for about three 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. A Lebanese man held prisoner in Israel is released and handed over to Lebanon 5 MIN READ 14 2 soldiers killed in Lebanon in the first Israeli deaths since June truce with Hezbollah 4 MIN READ School starts soon in Lebanon but thousands still shelter in them during war 4 MIN READ Ahmed Atwe, also waiting at the checkpoint, said his relative, Mohammed Juheir, was a fisherman from the border town of Naqoura who was captured at sea by Israeli forces a year ago, when a ceasefire agreement was in place. 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. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun thanked the “United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump” in a statement Friday. Other thorny issues remain to be resolved. Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, entered into rare direct negotiations after the outbreak of the latest war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on March 2. Hezbollah fired missiles over the border, two days after the U.S. and Iran attacked Iran. Israel launched aerial bombardment and a ground invasion of Lebanon and is now occupying a large swath of the south. Lebanon and Israel in June signed a U.S.-mediated framework deal under which Israeli forces were to withdraw from areas they are occupying in southern Lebanon in exchange for disarmament of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, but little progress has been made in implementation on the ground. Hezbollah is not a party to the Lebanon-Israel talks and has said it will not give up its weapons in any area north of southern Lebanon’s Litani River. Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said they will not withdraw unless Hezbollah is disarmed throughout the country. Another round of talks is expected to take place in Rome later this month. Abby Sewell Sewell is the Associated Press news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. She joined the AP in 2022 but has been based in the region since 2016, reporting and guiding coverage on some of its most significant news stories. twitter mailto