Israel returns fifth Lebanese prisoner after border delineation talks
Hezbollah-linked outlet reports that 14 Lebanese detainees still held by Israel, including 7 alleged members of the Iran-backed terror group
The Lebanese army on Thursday confirmed receiving the last of five detainees that Israel said it would free as part of what the Prime Minister’s Office called a “gesture to the Lebanese president,” following rare talks between the countries.
The transfer comes after Tuesday’s military-to-military meeting at the United Nations peacekeeping headquarters in southern Lebanon’s Naqoura, during which Israel and Lebanon agreed to open negotiations to delineate their border, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The US and France also participated in the meeting.
The prisoner, who was not named, was brought to Lebanon by the Red Cross and taken to a hospital, the Lebanese Army wrote on X, after Israel released four other prisoners on Tuesday.
Citing two US officials, Axios reported that one of those released is a member of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite terror group based in Lebanon that Israel has battled for decades.
Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Iran and Hezbollah, named the final detainee expected for release as Ziad Shibli, saying he was returned separately due to injuries he sustained.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called the return of the detainees a “gesture” to new Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who has said he will work on improving relations with Arab countries and implementing reforms and whose election in January was seen as a setback for Hezbollah.
Al-Akhbar also reported that 14 Lebanese detainees remain in Israel, including seven others who Israel says are Hezbollah members.
The remaining prisoners could be used as future bargaining chips by Israel, becoming “a price Israel pays in installments whenever it secures a concession from across the border,” sources told Al-Akhbar.
Disputes on ‘normalization’
Following the four-way meeting in Naqoura, Israel and Lebanon announced that three joint working groups would be established, focusing on the five points Israel still occupies inside of Lebanon; the Blue Line that marks the de facto border between the two countries; the 13 points that are under dispute; and Lebanese citizens held by Israel.
The working groups could meet as early as next month, according to Axios.
While an Israeli official said the aim of the discussions “is to reach normalization,” a Lebanese source told the pro-Iran Al-Mayadeen channel on Wednesday afternoon that ties with Israel are not on the table.
The three working groups, said the source, “are not separate from Resolution 1701, and will not engage in direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.”
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the previous round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.
“Everything being said about these working groups being a prelude to normalization is completely false,” said the Lebanese source.
Land border negotiations
Al-Akhbar cited “informed sources” on Thursday, saying that “Lebanon does not want to bring non-military personnel into the [negotiation] process, and that the [working groups] will be composed of Lebanese officers, including experts and technicians, similar to the officers who participated in the Maritime Demarcation Committee.”
Jerusalem and Beirut negotiated a maritime boundary in 2022 — an agreement brokered by the US that Netanyahu assailed at the time while serving as opposition leader — but the two countries have yet to adopt an official land border.
Lebanon is “ready for land demarcation” but fears that negotiations “will lead to the loss of areas it is entitled to,” sources told Al-Akhbar.
In addition to the five strategic points Israel currently operates in Lebanon, the border conflict centers on 13 disputed points along the border.
The most recent ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon began on November 27, 2024, halting more than a year of hostilities initiated by Hezbollah, including two months of full-blown war during which Israel sent in ground troops across the northern border.
The fighting began with attacks by Hezbollah on the Jewish state on October 8, 2023, in support of Palestinian ally Hamas, which invaded southern Israel from Gaza a day earlier. Persistent rocket fire from Lebanon displaced some 60,000 Israeli civilians.
“Everyone involved remains committed to maintaining the ceasefire agreement and to fully implement all its terms,” US Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said in a statement on the new negotiations. “We look forward to quickly convening these diplomat-led working groups to resolve outstanding issues, along with our international partners.”
Lazar Berman and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
