Israeli forces detained three Lebanese farmers in southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to Issa Abedelaal, the leader of the farmers' village. Abedelaal told the BBC that Israeli forces summoned the farmers via mobile phone to a specific location, where they were subsequently detained.
The incident occurred after Israeli forces entered the village of Halta in the Hasbaya province, an area that remains under Israeli occupation. The detentions have been reported to the US-led International Monitoring and Implementation Mechanism, which oversees security coordination between Israel and Lebanon. The Israeli military has not responded to requests for comment.
In a separate development, Israel released another Lebanese civilian, Malek Ghazi, hours after the detentions. Ghazi was handed over to the Lebanese army via the International Committee of the Red Cross. Israel stated that four more Lebanese civilians are scheduled for release on Friday. The Israeli prime minister's office indicated that these four individuals had been questioned and found to have no ties to armed groups.
More than 30 Lebanese civilians are believed to still be in Israeli custody. Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, mediated by the U.S., have been stalled. These talks are intended to establish a security framework that includes Hezbollah's disarmament, an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories, and the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon.
Ghazi was released at the Naqoura crossing and taken to an army intelligence facility in Tyre for a medical examination. His family reported him missing last October after he left home to exercise. Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed Ghazi's release and expressed gratitude to the U.S. for its role. Salam affirmed that the Lebanese government would continue efforts to secure the release of all Lebanese detainees, obtain information on those still missing, and achieve a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
The issue of detainees is part of broader U.S.-mediated negotiations, which also encompass efforts to recover the remains of Lebanese Jewish community leaders abducted and killed during Lebanon's civil war. A framework agreed upon in mid-June outlines Hezbollah's disarmament, the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south, and a gradual Israeli withdrawal starting with designated "pilot zones." However, progress has been limited, with Israel expressing concerns about the Lebanese army's role and disagreements over verification mechanisms. Hezbollah has rejected the talks and the pilot-zone concept.
Neither side has set a date for the eighth round of talks. Israel has continued its military actions in southern Lebanon, and officials report an expansion of Israeli positions in the region. Lebanese authorities stated that 11 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in August. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said at the time that the strike targeted a Hezbollah commander following an attack against Israeli soldiers.