A convoy of the ICRC on its way to Mansouri, in southern Lebanon, on September 4, 2026. Photo Kawnat HAJU / AFP A convoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) drives along a road near al-Mansouri in southern Lebanon on September 4, 2026, en route to a meeting point to receive four people who had been detained by Israel. Humanitarian workers on September 4 said they had facilitated the transfer to Lebanon of four more people detained by Israel, a day after another person was freed. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP) /
SOUTH LEBANON — Israel released four detainees this morning, two Lebanese and two Syrians, who were transferred to Lebanon via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), announced the humanitarian organization in a statement.
They are two Lebanese nationals, Hussein Abdallah Ayache and Ali Hassan Shour, and two Syrians, Assaad Mahmoud Haske and Sam Ibrahim al-Samad, reports our correspondent in the South. They had previously been captured and taken hostage by Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.
Another detainee, Malek Ghazi, who had been abducted by Israel in October 2025 in the Rashaya region, was released early Thursday morning.
The convoy was seen passing through the Lebanese Army checkpoint at Aamrieh, the last one before the Israeli-occupied "buffer zone" in the South.
The transfer took place “with full respect for the safety and dignity of those concerned,” the ICRC stated, adding that “this operation was strictly humanitarian” and carried out “in its capacity as a neutral intermediary between Israel and Lebanon.” “Many families in Lebanon are still awaiting answers regarding the fate of their loved ones, who may be detained, deceased or of whom there is still no news. The ICRC continues to liaise with the families themselves and remains determined to shed light on the fate of their loved ones,” the humanitarian organization concluded.
These releases came two and three days after the visit of the U.S. ambassador to Beirut, Michel Issa, to Tel Aviv, during which he tried to break the deadlock in negotiations between the two countries in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
'Freedom is priceless'
Although the capture date of the four detainees freed on Friday is not officially known, the brother of one of them, Hussein Abdallah Ayache, stated that he had been abducted in Kfar Tibnit (Nabatieh) and "detained for about two months and twenty days." "Why was he arrested? We don't know. The important thing is that he has been freed," his brother continued. "We thank everyone who helped us. We were anxious like the other detainees’ families. We hope all the captives will be released. Freedom is priceless," he said.
President Joseph Aoun thanked the United States following the release over the past two days of five civilians detained in Israel and transferred to Lebanon, in a message posted on X by the Lebanese Presidency.
He also welcomed “the effectiveness of Lebanon’s firm stance, in all its aspects, as well as the need to continue with the necessary steps set out in the trilateral framework,” referring to the framework agreement signed at the end of June between Beirut and Tel Aviv, under the auspices of Washington, and strongly criticized by Hezbollah.
The President “expressed his gratitude for all the steps taken and efforts made, notably by the United States of America, under the leadership of its President Donald Trump, as well as by international parties, foremost among which is the International Committee of the Red Cross,” according to the aforementioned message. He also reaffirmed his desire for the “restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty” and the return of all Lebanese captives in Israel. He concluded by “renewing his commitment” to ensuring that the state retains a monopoly on the use of force, so that “citizens are not subject to any sovereignty other than that of their state."
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