Red Cross vehicles head to southern Lebanon for handover of 6 Lebanese held by Israel

By Naim Berjawi and Rania Abu Shamala

BEIRUT (AA) - Vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) headed to the Ras al-Naqoura border area in southern Lebanon on Tuesday evening to receive six Lebanese citizens abducted by the Israeli army.

"Red Cross vehicles are on their way to the Naqoura border area with Israel to receive six Lebanese prisoners who have been held by the Israeli army for weeks," sources familiar with the issue told Anadolu.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide any further details.

Earlier, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hezbollah, said that Israel was set to release six Lebanese civilians at the Ras al-Naqoura crossing, out of 11 people.

There was no immediate confirmation from Lebanese or Israeli authorities of the report.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon since Nov. 27, ending months of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah that escalated into a full-scale conflict last September.

Lebanese authorities have reported nearly 1,100 Israeli violations of the ceasefire, including the deaths of at least 85 people and injuries to more than 280 others.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Israel refused to comply. It still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.