Residents stand in front of a Lebanese army roadblock in Houla on Feb. 18, 2025. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Four Lebanese civilians abducted at the border by the Israeli army were handed over to Lebanese authorities on Tuesday, in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a "gesture" to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. A fifth detainee, a Lebanese soldier abducted on March 9 by Israel, was released two days later, early on Thursday, as confirmed by the Lebanese Army.Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, Bilal Koteish, whose father Hussein was released on Tuesday after spending nearly a month in an Israeli prison, said his father's freedom meant he could "finally breathe."Hussein Koteish, 63, was arrested on Feb. 16 in Houla, in Marjayoun district, after being shot in the leg by the Israeli army. He and three other civilians were transferred to the Lebanese Red Cross in the border town of Naqoura on Tuesday evening. Read more...
Four Lebanese civilians abducted at the border by the Israeli army were handed over to Lebanese authorities on Tuesday, in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a "gesture" to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. A fifth detainee, a Lebanese soldier abducted on March 9 by Israel, was released two days later, early on Thursday, as confirmed by the Lebanese Army.Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, Bilal Koteish, whose father Hussein was released on Tuesday after spending nearly a month in an Israeli prison, said his father's freedom meant he could "finally breathe."Hussein Koteish, 63, was arrested on Feb. 16 in Houla, in Marjayoun district, after being shot in the leg by the Israeli army. He and three other civilians were transferred to the Lebanese Red Cross in the border town of Naqoura on Tuesday evening. Read more...