Four more detainees captured by Israeli troops in south Lebanon have been handed over to the Lebanese authorities, as the family of a fifth told The National of his 11-month ordeal in prison. The move was facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, security sources confirmed on Friday, following the release of another detainee through the organisation a day earlier.The four detainees, Lebanese and Syrian nationals, are with Lebanese authorities in Tyre, where they are waiting for medical evaluations and questioning by the Lebanese army's intelligence service. “It's common protocol,” a security source told The National.The five people are the first to be freed since Lebanon requested the release of detainees, some of whom have been held in Israel since 2024, during the last round of direct talks on August 6.Lebanese citizen Malek Ghazi was the first of the five to be released into Lebanese custody on Thursday as a “gesture of goodwill” by Israel towards Lebanon amid the stalled direct negotiations. Mr Ghazi was abducted in the Rashaya region in October 2025.Mr Ghazi, 20, is believed to have been released due to the ability of a relative to make contact with Lebanon's ambassador to the US, Nada Moawad. Yasser Ghazi, a journalist, used his network to raise Malek Ghazi's case to Ms Moawad just as a round of Lebanon-Israel talks was taking place in August and releases were being discussed.Mr Ghazi was received by his family in the southern town of Ayn Atta on Thursday night after 11 months in the Beersheba prison complex, his uncle Yasser Ghazi told The National.“He was carrying nothing but water, a sandwich, and his phone,” said uncle Yasser Ghazi.The young man was detained while on a hike in Sheikh Al Jabal. His uncle said Malek had wandered too far up the mountain, near the Lebanon-Syria border, when he was abducted by an Israeli patrol. No one knew of his fate for the first 36 hours, until Druze residents in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights confirmed to residents in Ayn Atta – also a Druze town – that someone had been captured and taken into custody in Israel.“We were happy that he was alive because we had thought he was dead,” Mr Ghazi said.He said Malek had lost considerable weight during his 11 months in detention, eating nothing but toast and dry legumes. “He said he hadn't eaten a hot meal in nearly a year,” Mr Ghazi said.Another of the released civilians was identified as Hussein Abdullah Ayash by his brother, who spoke to media as he waited for the Red Cross convoy carrying the detainees to cross a checkpoint. Mr Ayash is from the town of Harouf, his brother said, and was captured by Israeli forces while travelling to the neighbouring town of Kfar Tebnit during a truce in June.Mr Ayash, 33, was eventually released and went back to Harouf in the Nabatieh district.Hussein Ayyash, 33, who was detained by Israeli troops, reunites with his loved ones in Harouf, southern Lebanon, on September 4. ReutersShow caption: Hussein Ayyash, 33, who was detained by Israeli troops, reun…Mr Ayash told local media he was transferred to a prison in Israel after spending two nights in Lebanon, where he met “at least five or six Lebanese” in Israeli cells.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed appreciation for the US role in brokering the deal. The handover affirmed “the validity of the firm Lebanese position and the necessity of completing the required steps stipulated in the tripartite framework”, his office said on Friday.The release of the detainees signals a renewed diplomatic push between Israel and Lebanon, as Washington seeks to facilitate further dialogue before negotiations in Rome. Talks have stalled, but officials from the two countries are expected to meet in Italy this month, according to reports.“It was decided to release five Lebanese civilians who were arrested in areas under [Israeli army] control in southern Lebanon,” the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.“After their interrogation was completed, it became clear that they are civilians who are not members of any terrorist organisation, have not engaged in terrorism, and there is no reason to continue holding them in Israel.”Mr Netanyahu's office said the decision to release the detainees followed “extensive efforts” by Israel and Lebanon to locate and return the bodies of leaders of Lebanon's Jewish community who were abducted and killed in the 1980s, during the country's 15-year civil war.The ICRC said many families in Lebanon are still waiting for answers about the fate of loved ones who may be detained, dead or otherwise unaccounted for. “The ICRC reiterates the requirement to receive information on conflict-related detainees and to be granted access to them,” the organisation said.More than 30 people are believed to have been abducted by Israeli forces from south Lebanon since 2023, with the ICRC unable to make contact with them.The US commended Israel and Lebanon “for demonstrating good faith through these initial steps”, a State Department official said. They added that Washington hoped “this will serve as the basis for expanded discussions on other civilian issues”.