The Blue Line is the UN-patrolled demarcation line that has served as the de facto border since 2000 [Getty]
Israel announced on Tuesday that it had released five Lebanese prisoners as a “goodwill” gesture to Lebanon’s newly elected president.
“In coordination with the United States and as a gesture to Lebanon’s new president, Israel has agreed to release five Lebanese detainees,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office said four of the prisoners had been freed on Tuesday and the fifth would follow on Wednesday.
Their release followed a meeting earlier Tuesday in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura, attended by representatives of Israel, Lebanon, and mediators France and the United States.
“During the meeting, it was agreed to establish three joint working groups aimed at stabilising the region,” the prime minister’s statement said.
“These groups will focus on the five points controlled by Israel in southern Lebanon, discussions on the Blue Line and remaining disputed areas, and the issue of Lebanese detainees held by Israel.”
The Blue Line is the UN-patrolled demarcation line that has served as the de facto border since 2000.
In an interview with Lebanese news channel Al Jadeed, US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus emphasised Washington’s efforts to resolve the border issue.
“We want to get a political resolution, finally, to the border disputes,” Ortagus said.
“When it comes to the border agreement, the land border agreement, there are 13 points – I think that six are still problematic,” she said.
Ortagus said Israel had “withdrawn from over 99 percent of the territory”.
“I feel fairly confident that… we can have final resolution on the five points and ultimately on the remaining issues related to the Blue Line”.
Meanwhile, Israel alleged on Tuesday it had killed a “senior Hezbollah militant”, reportedly responsible for drones and missiles.
Despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has continued to carry out air strikes in Lebanon, claiming they are “necessary” to prevent the group from rearming or re-establishing a presence along its northern border.
“Earlier today, the IAF (air force) conducted a precise intelligence-based strike in the area of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, eliminating Hassan Abbas Ezzedine, the head of Hezbollah’s aerial array in the Bader regional unit,” the military said in a statement.
It said it carried out a second strike on Tuesday in the Froun area, targeting several militants.
“Several terrorists were identified in a site used by Hezbollah in the area of Froun in southern Lebanon,” the military said. “An IAF aircraft struck the suspects.”
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that two people were killed in the Israeli strikes.
“An enemy Israeli drone strike targeting a car on the Deir El-Zahrani road resulted in one fatality,” the news agency said, citing the health ministry.
It later reported that a second person was killed in an Israeli air strike on a vehicle in the Froun area.
Although a truce reached on 27 November largely ended more than a year of hostilities – including two months of full-scale war in which Israeli ground troops crossed the border – Israel has continued to launch periodic strikes in Lebanese territory.
Israel was initially expected to withdraw from Lebanon by 18 February, after missing a January deadline, but it has maintained a presence in five strategic locations.
The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
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