Salah Abu-Hussein, an Israeli citizen, who had been imprisoned in Lebanon for approximately one year, returns to Israel, August 21, 2025. (Photo: Michael Dimenstein/GPO)
An Israeli citizen who had been imprisoned in Lebanon for a year, amid circumstances that are not fully clear as yet, was freed and returned to Israel on Thursday.
The government’s point man for hostages and missing persons, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, announced, “Salah Abu-Hussein, an Israeli citizen who had been imprisoned in Lebanon for approximately one year, was returned to Israel this afternoon.”
Hirsch added that Abu-Hussein was handed over to Israel by the Lebanese authorities at the Rosh Hanikra crossing following negotiations that were conducted over the past several months.
The Red Cross assisted in the negotiations, Hirsch’s statement added.
“After questioning and a preliminary medical examination, Abu-Hussein was taken by the IDF for comprehensive examinations at the hospital, following which he will meet his family.”
The statement also noted that “the circumstances of the incident are under investigation by the security forces,” suggesting that the reason for Abu-Hussein’s presence in Lebanon, which is generally off-limits to Israeli citizens as it is considered an enemy country, could be unknown even to the authorities.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Abu-Hussein’s return from Lebanon, thanking “all those who were involved in the effort” and especially, Hirsch.
“This is a positive step and a sign of things to come,” Netanyahu added, possibly hinting at improvements in the relations with the Lebanese government.
Media reports have highlighted several cases of Arab Israeli civilians crossing the border into Lebanon before being returned by Lebanese authorities.
According to Channel 12, Abu-Hussein had been imprisoned in July 2024, noting that no Lebanese prisoners held in Israel were freed in exchange for him.
Hezbollah has been demanding the release of several of its fighters who were taken prisoner during the Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon last year, claiming the prisoner issue as one of the reasons that it refuses to hand over its weapons to the state.
Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah targets, most of them in southern Lebanon, from where the terror group was supposed to withdraw under the ceasefire agreement of last year.
On Thursday, the IDF said it killed a terrorist from Hezbollah’s elite “Radwan Force” who operated in the Deir Seryan area in southern Lebanon.
The evening before, the IDF carried out a series of airstrikes on “terrorist infrastructure, weapon storage facilities and a rocket launcher,” whose presence “constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
Earlier in the week, the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) discovered a 164-foot-long Hezbollah tunnel near the southern Lebanese town of Al Qusayr, UNIFIL announced.
The statement said “several unexploded ordnances” were also found in the area of the tunnels. “In line with resolution 1701, the findings were handed over to the LAF,” a spokesperson from UNIFIL said.
The 1701 UN Security Council resolution was passed in 2007, calling for Hezbollah’s disarmament and for no other armed forces but the LAF and UNIFIL to occupy the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line (the border with Israel).
UNIFIL did not give further details on the origin of the tunnel or the type of explosives discovered; however, a statement from the UN last week said the discovery included “rocket launchers, rocket shells, mortar rounds, bomb fuses and a tunnel containing munitions.”
