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.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.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Israel kills or injures 7 children a day in Lebanon invasion, report sayslist 2 of 4Israel releases Lebanese civilian, says five prisoners will be freedlist 3 of 4US Vice President JD Vance declines to offer timeline for end of Iran warlist 4 of 4In southern Lebanon, Israeli demolitions continue ‘day and night’end of listAoun 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" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="112320" data-entity-type="event">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.