An entire section of the village of Qantara in southern Lebanon destroyed by massive Israeli blasting, in this photo taken on September 2, 2026. Photo Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour
SOUTH LEBANON — Israel on Thursday claimed its army had established "operational control" over the Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, while releasing one of five prisoners it had pledged to free in a gesture of “goodwill” toward Lebanon, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lebanese national Malek Kamal Ghazi was released, while the other four releases were postponed until Friday “in principle,” according to a security source contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour.
Freeing the civilians comes two days after the U.S. ambassador to Beirut, Michel Issa, visited Tel Aviv, where he attempted to break the deadlock in negotiations between the two countries during a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu. It also comes as Israel abducted three people the same day of the release.
Twenty-year-old Malek Ghazi was exercising outdoors in October 2025 in the Rashaya region, when an Israeli patrol abducted him, according to a security souce. The Lebanese Army's intelligence services took charge of the young man after his transfer to Lebanon by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) across the border at Naqoura. "I'm just waiting to see him... We are relieved," Ghazi's brother told our publication, as army intelligence was preparing to hand him over to his family.
A local source in Ain Ata, Ghazi's home village, confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour that the young man had been kidnapped about a year ago. "The family learned about it from former prisoners who had been released," the source said. The four other detainees, two Lebanese and two Syrians, were initially scheduled to be handed over to Lebanon on Thursday at 6 p.m., but the operation was postponed until Friday "in principle," according to the aforementioned security source. These are civilians and not Hezbollah militiamen, the source continued, adding that these people were not included in the list of prisoners in Israel communicated to the authorities.
'Operational control' of Ali Taher
In the evening, the Israeli army announced that it has taken "operational control" of the Ali Taher ridge, without providing further evidence. Notably, this is not the first time such an announcement has been made following the June cease-fire.
Israeli army spokeswomen Ella Waweya claimed, "In recent weeks, the 36th Division has dismantled two underground tunnels in the area of the Ali Taher Heights, located in the security zone. Israeli forces took operational control of the area, both above and below ground, and cleared it of terrorists from there. Some were killed, others fled." Additionally, Maariv, an Israeli outlet, said citing a military source that "no Iranian advisers or members of the Revolutionary Guards have been found there since the beginning of the army's operations in the area."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also claimed the "seizure" Thursday evening, describing it as a "strategic success." "Excellent news tonight. The army has cleared the Ali Taher ridge, near Beaufort, which served as a strategic position from which Hezbollah harassed Kiryat Shmona and Metula," two towns in northern Israel. "Today we can say it: the Ali Taher ridge is no longer a threat to us," he declared.
Locally, an informed source told our correspondent, "There are more than one facility on the Ali Taher hill. A small facility was destroyed some time ago and the Israeli army entered it, but this has not altered the strategic reality of the Ali Taher hill." The source predicted that the time of the announcement may relate to Israeli election campaigns, adding that "as far as the military situation is concerned, today is no different from any other day."
As for Hezbollah, there was still radio silence as of Friday morning. Yet, up until that very day, rumors had been circulating of a possible large-scale offensive against the ridge. According to the international news agency Reuters, on Thursday Iran warned the United States that it would respond forcefully to any Israeli offensive against this strategic point, where Iranian military personnel are said to be entrenched alongside Hezbollah fighters.
Salam thanks Ambassador Issa
Commenting on Ghazi's release, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam thanked the American administration, particularly the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, for "the efforts made in this regard." The diplomat met with Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to persuade the Israeli side to address some of Lebanon's demands to support and strengthen the Lebanese state's position.
The issue of Lebanese detainees in Israel was officially on the agenda of the seventh round of negotiations, held in Rome last August under U.S. mediation. The two sides exchanged initial lists of detainees and missing persons at that time, according to Israeli media. Beirut had requested that the first step be the release of a group of civilian detainees.
According to Netanyahu's office, Israel has confirmed the release of five Lebanese nationals detained in southern Lebanon, after determining they had no links to armed groups. This decision comes as part of negotiations with Lebanon concerning, among other things, the recovery of the remains of leaders of the Lebanese Jewish community killed in the 1980s. Twelve Lebanese Jews, including the head of the community, were kidnapped between 1984 and 1986, when clandestine groups accused of having links to Hezbollah kidnapped Westerners. Most were executed.
Guy Azriel, diplomatic correspondent for the Israeli channel i24 News, provided additional details, saying that Netanyahu had asked Israeli officials to intensify efforts to locate and repatriate the remains of these Lebanese Jewish figures, known as the "Harugei Malchut" ("martyrs of the kingdom"). According to him, the Israeli Prime Minister has been following this issue for decades, particularly since his time as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations.
According to Azriel, significant efforts have been made in recent months by Lebanon and Israel to locate the remains, notably through "operations on the ground." He also stated that, following their interrogations, Israeli authorities concluded that the five Lebanese detainees were civilians, did not belong to any "terrorist" organization, had not participated in any such activity, and that there was therefore "no reason to continue detaining them in Israel."
Washington says it continues to facilitate dialogue between Israel, Lebanon
The United States continues to facilitate dialogue between Israel and Lebanon “on a daily basis,” a senior State Department official told Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of Axios on Thursday. According to the official, U.S. mediation has contributed to the release of several Lebanese prisoners by Israel.
“The Trump administration continues to facilitate dialogue between Israel and Lebanon on a daily basis and looks forward to the next round of negotiations in Rome later this month,” the U.S. official said, as quoted by Ravid.
The issue of the prisoners’ release was raised during the last round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, held in Rome in August, before being finalized this week during the visit to Israel by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, according to the same source.
Washington also commended the Israeli and Lebanese governments for having "demonstrated good faith" through these initial measures, hoping they would serve as "a basis for broader discussions on other civilian issues." The U.S. official further stated that Washington remained "committed to the implementation of the trilateral framework agreement," he concluded.
Israeli army abducts 3 people in Halta
While Israel announced the release of five Lebanese detainees, three people were forcibly taken by the Israeli army to Halta in the eastern sector of the border strip in southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent's report.
The operation began at dawn on Thursday. An Israeli army unit entered this border hamlet in the Hasbaya district, located in the occupied "buffer zone" that remains inhabited by a predominantly Sunni population. The military first contacted the village mokhtar (local official) and a member of the municipal council before surrounding several homes. Residents were prevented from leaving their homes by messages broadcast by Israeli forces.
The military then searched several houses and took away approximately 15 people, according to Qassem al-Qadri, the mayor of Kfar Shuba, the municipality to which Halta belongs, who was contacted by our correspondent. Among them was Hatem Abdel Aal, a member of the municipal council.
While the searches were underway, Israeli artillery repeatedly targeted the hills above the village, which were also subjected to machine-gun fire. After several hours of interrogations and searches, Israeli forces took three of the detainees to an unknown location and released about a dozen others. The immediate fate of Hatem Abdel Aal remained unknown.
Further Israeli demolitions
Continuing their military operations, Israeli forces carried out a powerful demolition in Kfar Tibnit in the Nabatieh district, causing strong tremors that shook houses in Nabatieh and were felt as far away as Saida, more than 25 kilometers away in a straight line. A resident of Nabatieh told our correspondent in the South that her house shook while her children panicked.
Israeli forces also shelled Houla (Marjeaoun) with artillery and set fire to other houses in Mansouri (Sour). They also set fire to houses in Bani Hayyan (Marjayoun), where several demolitions took place. In the same area, Israeli military vehicles were seen moving from Houla toward Wadi Slouqi, while tank fire targeted the area. Israeli forces also carried out a major explosion in Qantara (Marjayoun).
Shells were also fired toward the outskirts of Kfar Shuba, where Israeli military vehicles were spotted below the Israeli position at Ramtha on the disputed heights overlooking the village. In March 2026, Israeli forces had already searched several houses in the village. Located within the "buffer zone," which covers more than 600 square kilometers of Lebanese territory occupied by Israel, the farming hamlet of Halta falls administratively under the municipality of Kfar Shuba, which has also been targeted in the past by regular kidnappings carried out by Israeli troops.
Elsewhere in the South, Israeli artillery fired five shells toward the Litani River near the Khardali Bridge, targeting the area west of Deir Mimas and east of Beaufort Castle in the eastern sector. In the same region, the Israeli army carried out a controlled explosion near Deir Siryan (Marjayoun) at the same time as artillery fire, and in Qantara. Artillery fire and the dropping of stun grenades were reported in Mansouri, a village bisected by the "Yellow Line" south of Sour in the western sector, according to our correspondent.
Furthermore, during the night, intense artillery fire targeted the hills of Ali Taher, Dohat Kfar Roummane, and the Dabsheh area in the Nabatieh district. Dohat Kfar Roummane was again shelled by Israeli artillery later that night. In this area, the Israeli army is encircling the strategic Ali Taher ridge, where a Hezbollah military base and militants are believed to be located.
Nearby, it also carried out three major demolition operations in Kfar Tibnit, near Arnoun. In the Marjayoun district, five shells struck Qantara and six others hit Wadi Hujeir, which was targeted again after midnight. Meanwhile, machine-gun sweep fire targeted Zawtar Sharqieh, in the Nabatieh district, and Sarbine, in the Bint Jbeil district.
'Continued Israeli violations'
Faced with these attacks, which appear to be escalating in southern Lebanon, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, during a meeting with Dutch Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, denounced the “continued violations” of the framework agreement reached in Washington on June 26 with Israel. He added that the Lebanese Army is “fully fulfilling its missions” as stipulated in the agreement. The agreement provides for the deployment of troops in “pilot zones” in the South, where Hezbollah’s arsenal is to be dismantled and from which the Israeli army is to withdraw.
According to Aoun, the accusations against the Lebanese Army, primarily published by Israeli media outlets that have accused it of not making sufficient efforts toward disarmament, are solely aimed at “undermining it and sowing doubt about its role.” The army itself denounced these media attacks on Wednesday.
Regarding the mandate of the U.N. Interim Force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL), which expires in December and whose extension is rejected by Tel Aviv and Washington, the head of state indicated that he remained "committed" to its presence in the South given its "important role," but that he "would welcome the possibility that another friendly country would continue its action" if the mandate were not renewed.
Reporting contributed by our correspondent in southern Lebanon, Muntasser Abdallah, and our correspondent in the Bekaa, Sara Abdallah.
