Israel handed over Lebanese captive Malek Ghazi to the Lebanese Army on Thursday and said it will release four more Lebanese prisoners as a diplomatic gesture amid ongoing border negotiations.
Israel on Thursday released Lebanese captive Malek Ghazi through the Red Cross at the Naqoura border crossing. The Lebanese Army received him after he was transferred through the International Committee of the Red Cross, and he is currently undergoing medical examinations.
Ghazi, 20, disappeared in October 2025 in the Ain Ata area near Mount Hermon while engaging in a sports activity. His motorcycle was later found, but he remained missing until Thursday's handover.
An Israeli official confirmed that Israel will release four more Lebanese captives as part of what it described as a diplomatic gesture to the Lebanese government. Israel's Channel 12 reported that the move comes in coordination with the United States and within the framework of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.
The prisoner releases follow a meeting this week in Jerusalem between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, where the matter was discussed.
According to a Lebanese political source, Lebanon had been promised since the Rome negotiations in August that five captives would be released. The first prisoner was expected to be released on Wednesday but was postponed to Thursday for logistical reasons.
The seventh round of negotiations, held in Rome in August under American mediation, included the issue of detainees as an official topic. The two sides exchanged initial lists of detainees and missing persons, with Lebanon requesting that civilian detainees be the first group released.
More than 30 Lebanese captives are believed to remain in Israeli custody. Israel previously released five Lebanese captives in March 2025, also described as a gesture to the Lebanese government and carried out in coordination with Washington.
The prisoner release occurs despite reported Israeli dissatisfaction with the pilot zones arrangement currently operating in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army has argued that the Lebanese Army is not making sufficient progress in clearing Hezbollah infrastructure from villages included in the pilot area.
