Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Thursday that the return of the five Lebanese nationals freed in the context of a detainee release is an important step, thanking the US administration and Ambassador Michel Issa for their efforts, according to the Abu Ali Express news outlet. He pledged to continue working for the release of all Lebanese prisoners, clarification of the fate of missing persons, and full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Thursday thanked the United States for its role in securing the release of five Lebanese nationals who were freed earlier in the day, and pledged to continue pressing for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Salam's statement, reported by Abu Ali Express, called the release “an important step” and said he would continue working for the release of all Lebanese prisoners, clarification of the fate of missing persons, and full Israeli withdrawal. He specifically thanked the US administration and Ambassador Michel Issa for their efforts.
The release of the five detainees was the culmination of a sequence of developments reported by The Zioneer throughout Thursday. At 13:29 Jerusalem, initial reports from N12, The Jerusalem Post, and i24NEWS indicated Israel would release several Lebanese prisoners as a goodwill gesture. Shortly afterward, Ynet reported that Lebanese authorities were searching for remains of missing Jewish individuals, parallel to the prisoner returns. By 13:29, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the advancement of efforts to locate and return the bodies of Jewish community leaders in Lebanon — figures kidnapped and murdered by terror groups in the mid-1980s — and that five Lebanese detainees held in IDF-controlled areas had been released after investigations cleared them of any terror affiliation.
Salam's comments align with his government's consistent position, as The Zioneer reported on June 26, that any framework agreement must lead to a full Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory. Salam has also stated that Lebanon is committed to expanding state control through its security forces. The release and the recovery effort represent a rare instance of parallel diplomatic and humanitarian action between Israel and Lebanon, occurring amid ongoing US-mediated negotiations to stabilize the border.
What remains to be seen is whether the Lebanese search for the remains of missing Jewish individuals leads to substantive progress, and whether Salam's government can follow through on its pledge to secure full withdrawal and the return of all remaining prisoners and missing persons.
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