Israel frees four Lebanese captives, agrees to join border negotiations

The office of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that it had received the four captives, with a fifth expected to be handed over the following day.

Lebanese media, including the state news agency NNA, reported that the released Lebanese captives had arrived in a hospital in southern Lebanon’s Tyre.

The handover occurred after Israel said on Tuesday that it had agreed to hold talks to demarcate its border with Lebanon, describing the release of the five Lebanese held by the Israeli military as a “gesture to the Lebanese president”.

A statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday said Israel had agreed with Lebanon, the US and France to establish working groups to discuss the demarcation line.

US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus told Lebanese TV channel Al Jadeed that Washington wanted “a political resolution, finally, to the border disputes”.

She added the US and France, which helped broker a November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, had set up “working groups” to keep the process on track.

“The working groups would address the border disputes between the two countries, as well as Israel’s continued occupation of five strategic points in south Lebanon,” Ortagus added.

The ceasefire deal ended more than a year of conflict between Israel’s military and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah that took place in parallel with Israel’s war on Gaza.

The agreement required Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River, about 20 miles (30 kilometres) from the border, and to dismantle its military infrastructure in the south.

Though Israel was supposed to withdraw completely from Lebanese territory by February 18 after missing a January deadline, it has kept troops at five locations it deems strategic.