In a political step directly linked to the negotiation process between Beirut and Israel, Israel is moving to release today, Thursday, five Lebanese detained in its custody, in coordination with the United States and within the framework of what it describes as a “gesture” within the ongoing negotiations, while this file intersects with a parallel Israeli move to recover the remains of figures from the Jewish community in Lebanon who were killed after being kidnapped in the 1980s.
According to a report by journalists Yaron Abraham and Spier Lipkin on the Israeli “N12” website, Israel is expected to release 5 Lebanese prisoners today, in a move that it said comes in coordination with the United States and as part of negotiations between the two sides.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed these data, explaining that, within the framework of negotiations with Lebanon, Netanyahu directed work to locate and return the remains of leaders of the Jewish community in Lebanon, who were people who were kidnapped and killed in the mid-1980s by armed groups.
Netanyahu’s office said: “In recent months, many operations have been carried out to determine their locations, whether by Lebanon or by Israel, including field operations.”
He added: “In light of this important activity, it was decided to release 5 Lebanese citizens who were arrested in areas under the control of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon. After completing the investigation with them, it was found that they are civilians and not members of an armed group. They did not participate in hostilities, and there is no reason to continue detaining them in Israel.”
In parallel, the Lebanese army has already received prisoner Malik Kamal Ghazi, after Israel transferred him via the Red Cross as part of what it described as a “goodwill gesture,” while he is currently undergoing medical examinations.
According to reports, Ghazi, 20 years old, went missing in the Ain Ata-Rashaya area in October 2025, after he went out to engage in a sporting activity, before later reports emerged indicating that he was kidnapped and transferred to Israel.
The report indicated that the issue of detainees was an official item on the agenda of the seventh round of talks held in Rome in August 2026 under American mediation, where the two sides exchanged preliminary lists of the names of detainees and missing persons.
According to the sources, Lebanon requested that the first stage of this path begin with the release of a group of civilian detainees.
On August 7, 2026, President Joseph Aoun announced that “positive progress” had been achieved in the prisoner file, but no final agreement regarding additional releases had been announced at that time.
The current development brings to the fore a similar step that took place in March 2025, when Israel released 5 Lebanese who were detained and handed them over to Lebanon.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office described the release that day as a “gesture towards the President of Lebanon,” in coordination with the United States and in parallel with progress in talks related to the border files.
At the time, 4 of those released on March 11 were transferred, before the fifth prisoner, a soldier in the Lebanese army, was handed over at a later time.
Thus, the prisoner file turns from a humanitarian issue into an actual negotiating card within the current process, while the latest step reveals that the release operations have become linked to a broader basket that includes missing persons, remains, and pending files between Lebanon and Israel under American auspices.
