Israel detains Lebanese farmers in south Lebanon as civilian release continues
Three Lebanese farmers were detained by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, according to the leader of their village, in a development that comes as a separate civilian release process continues. The detentions took place in Halta, in Hasbaya province, an area within the roughly 600 sq km of Lebanese territory that Israel continues to occupy. Hours later, Israel released another Lebanese civilian through a handover involving the International Committee of the Red Cross.
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Village leader Issa Abedelaal said Israeli forces called the three farmers on their mobile phones and told them to report to a location, where they were detained and taken away. The reported detentions were passed to the US-led International Monitoring and Implementation Mechanism, which oversees security coordination between Israel and Lebanon. The Israeli military had not responded to a request for comment at the time of reporting.
The civilian released later in the day was Malek Ghazi, who was handed over to the Lebanese army at the Naqoura crossing before being taken to an army intelligence facility in Tyre for a medical examination. Israel said four more Lebanese civilians will be released on Friday, and its prime minister's office said those due to be freed had been questioned and found to have no links to armed groups. Lebanon's prime minister, Nawaf Salam, welcomed Ghazi's release and said the government would continue working for the release of all Lebanese detainees, information about those still missing, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
The two developments underline how detainee issues remain tied to the wider Israel-Lebanon file, including border security, withdrawal and the role of Hezbollah. More than 30 Lebanese are still believed to be in Israeli custody, while negotiations between the two countries remain stalled over a framework that also includes Hezbollah's disarmament and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south. The release of Ghazi is believed to be the first known civilian handover since US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon began in April, giving the process added political weight despite its limited scale.
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The case also reflects the broader and still unresolved consequences of the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanese authorities have not published an official total for those held by Israel, but families and a committee tracking the cases have compiled a list of more than 30 names. The talks have also touched on older sensitive issues, including the remains of Lebanese Jewish community leaders abducted and killed during Lebanon's civil war, showing that the negotiations extend beyond the current conflict.
What remains unclear is whether the three farmers detained in Halta will be released, and whether Friday's planned handover will go ahead as announced. It is also not known whether the latest detentions will affect the stalled negotiations or the wider security coordination mechanism. The next developments to watch are any further prisoner transfers, official confirmation of detainee lists, and statements from the Lebanese and Israeli sides or the mediators involved.
Israel has released a Lebanese civilian detainee and said five more Lebanese prisoners will be freed, in the first such handover since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began six months ago. The released man, identified as Malek Ghazi, was transferred through the International Committee of the Red Cross at the Naqoura border crossing in southern Lebanon. He was then taken to a Lebanese army intelligence office in the port city of Tyre, according to the Lebanese state news agency.
A Lebanese security official said Ghazi was handed over to the Lebanese army via the Red Cross. Israel said in a statement that the detainees it agreed to release had been interrogated and were not found to be members of a terrorist organisation or involved in terrorism. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the release followed Beirut's help in searching for the bodies of Lebanese Jewish leaders who were abducted and killed in the 1980s.
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Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the release and thanked the American administration for its efforts. Ghazi is the first Lebanese citizen held by Israel to be set free since US-brokered negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv began in April. His family said last October that they lost contact with him after he went out to exercise, and they are from Ain Ata near the border village of Shebaa.
Lebanese authorities have not announced how many citizens are being held by Israel since the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah, but families and a committee following the cases have compiled a list of more than 30 names. Lebanon said in its latest round of talks in August that it wanted detainees held by Israel since that war to be released. The handover comes against the backdrop of wider ceasefire-related diplomacy linked to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
It also reflects the continuing role of the United States in mediating between the two sides, with Salam saying Lebanon would keep working until all prisoners are released, the fate of missing people is disclosed and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory is achieved. The release is limited in scale, but it is politically significant because it is the first confirmed transfer of this kind since the war began and may indicate that the negotiations are producing concrete steps. The issue of detainees has become part of a broader set of unresolved questions after months of conflict, including missing persons, border security and the status of Israeli forces in Lebanese territory.
The mention of Lebanese Jewish leaders killed in the 1980s also shows that the talks are not confined to the current war, but are linked to older cases that have remained sensitive for decades. For Lebanon, the release is likely to be viewed as a test of whether diplomacy can deliver further prisoner frees and clarify the fate of others still unaccounted for. What remains unclear is how quickly the five additional prisoners will be released and whether the two sides will announce any wider agreement.
It is also not known how many Lebanese detainees remain in Israeli custody or whether the current talks will lead to progress on the missing and on withdrawal issues. The next developments to watch are any further handovers, official lists of detainees and statements from the mediators involved.
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