Israel was expected to release five Lebanese prisoners on Thursday, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement, in what would be a rare sign of progress amid struggling negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.
The prisoners would be the first Lebanese detainees known to be released by Israel since its latest war with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah began in March.
The office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said the prisoners had been detained in areas of southern Lebanon under Israeli military control, but did not say if this had occurred during the latest round of fighting. Israel had determined they were not members of armed groups, the prime minister’s office said.
In recent months, the Trump administration has brokered rare direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon aimed at disarming Hezbollah and ending Israel’s occupation of territory in southern Lebanon, but the talks have recorded few achievements.
As part of the talks, Israel and Lebanon have also made “extensive efforts” to find and repatriate the bodies of Jewish leaders in Lebanon who were killed in the 1980s by armed groups, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said. It did not say if any had yet been returned to Israel.
Senior Israeli and Lebanese officials have met in Rome and in Washington, breaking a decades-long taboo against public meetings between officials from the two governments. Michel Issa, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, visited Israel this week to meet with Mr. Netanyahu.
Hezbollah attacked Israel in solidarity with Iran days after the United States and Israel began their war against Iran in February. In response, Israel launched an intensive military campaign in Lebanon, which came to a halt after a U.S.-imposed cease-fire in April.
Despite the U.S.-sponsored negotiations, Israeli troops continue to conduct strikes in Lebanon, and it remains unclear whether the Lebanese government will be able to disarm Hezbollah, which can outgun the Lebanese military.
So far, the talks have produced two “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon, where the Lebanese military has been deployed. Disagreements persist over what disarming Hezbollah means and who will verify that it has been carried out, according to two diplomats briefed on the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are still displaced because of the fighting, while Hezbollah has denounced the Lebanese government for negotiating with Israel. The return of the Lebanese detainees, analysts said, would allow Lebanon’s government and the Trump administration to show that the talks are having results.
Nawaf Salam, the Lebanese prime minister, called the return of the Lebanese prisoners “an important step” and thanked the Trump administration for “efforts exerted in this regard.”
“No matter how difficult the path of negotiations may seem, we will continue gathering every required effort to safeguard Lebanon’s rights,” Mr. Salam said on social media.
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