Israel has released Lebanese national Malik Kamal Razi after nearly 11 months in detention, following an investigation that found no evidence linking him or four other detainees to any organisation.
Razi was handed over to the Lebanese army through the International Committee of the Red Cross at the Naqoura crossing on Thursday, amid US-brokered talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv.
Israeli official media had previously described Razi as a “Hezbollah operative”. Netanyahu’s office later said the investigation found the five did not belong to any “terrorist organisation”, had not engaged in terrorism and had no justification for continued detention.
Lebanese lawyer and lawmaker Melhem Khalaf told Anadolu that Razi and other Lebanese detainees retain the right to seek investigations, accountability and reparations for any violations suffered during detention.
Arbitrary detentions in Lebanon
Razi, born in 2005, disappeared on October 12 2025 after leaving his home in eastern Lebanon to exercise in a mountainous area. His motorcycle was later found and residents searched for him before it emerged that Israel was holding him.
Israel did not publicly announce charges against him or bring him before a court during his detention.
Lebanon’s National Human Rights Commission has documented other cases involving Lebanese civilians detained while working, fishing, tending livestock or returning to their villages after the ceasefire deal.
Legal Agenda, a Beirut-based NGO, documented at least 30 Lebanese people captured or abducted by Israel by May 2026, while dozens of others remained missing.
Released prisoner and academic Nabih Awada told Anadolu that 36 Lebanese prisoners were believed to be alive in Israeli prisons, citing Lebanese authorities and the Prisoners’ Representatives Committee.
Violating the international law
Khalaf said civilian detainees in international armed conflicts are protected under the Fourth Geneva Convention, while those meeting the conditions for prisoner-of-war status are covered by the Third Geneva Convention.
He said detainees are entitled to protections including humane treatment, medical care and fair-trial safeguards, and that release does not remove their right to seek accountability or reparations.
Razi’s release coincided with an Israeli incursion into the southern Lebanese town of Halta and the reported abduction of three people, according to local sources.
Since March 2, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 4,350 people and wounded 12,307, while displacing more than 1 million, according to Lebanese authorities.
