Israel frees six while military activity continues in South Lebanon
Shafaq News- Beirut
Israeli forces on Saturday released six people detained for several hours in southern Lebanon, as Israeli military operations continued a day after Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a US-mediated framework agreement aimed at paving the way for an Israeli withdrawal from the country's south.
Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the six —three Lebanese residents and three Syrian workers— were detained while working on farmland in Ain Arab town in the Marjaayoun district.
Meanwhile, the NNA reported fresh Israeli military activity, including a drone strike in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, an Israeli advance toward the outskirts of Kfar Shuba, and the firing of a sound bomb toward the area around Kfar Tibnit.
On Friday, Lebanon and Israel signed the agreement in Washington following a fifth round of US-mediated negotiations, linking any pullback to the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Read more: South Lebanon framework: What we know so far
Israeli Army Radio reported that the military would reduce its presence in southern Lebanon by withdrawing part of its combat brigades and restoring their readiness. It also reiterated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position that Israeli forces would not leave Lebanon before Hezbollah is disarmed.
The latest detentions add to a growing number of people taken alive by Israeli forces since the renewed military operation began on March 2, 2026. Beirut-based rights organization The Legal Agenda said it had verified eight such incidents in less than three months, involving people seized from homes, battlefront areas, farmland, or while seeking medical treatment, bringing the number of people remaining in Israeli custody after being taken from Lebanon since September 2024 to at least 30, while the fate of 37 others remains unknown.
Abbas Qabalan, a member of the Committee of Families of Lebanese Detainees in Israeli Prisons, told reporters there was no clear information about the fate of Lebanese detainees held by Israel and called for the establishment of an official body to oversee the issue and maintain communication with their families.
