Salah Abu-Hussein, held in Lebanon for nearly a year, was released Thursday in a Red Cross-mediated handover at Rosh Hanikra, with PM Netanyahu calling it “a positive step and a sign of things to come.”
After nearly a year in Lebanese custody, Salah Abu-Hussein, an Israeli citizen, has returned home in a quiet but significant breakthrough mediated by the International Red Cross.
On Thursday, Abu-Hussein was handed over by Lebanese authorities at the Rosh Hanikra crossing to Israel’s Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch. The move followed months of discreet negotiations between Jerusalem, Beirut, and international mediators.
Upon crossing into Israel, Abu-Hussein underwent a preliminary interrogation and medical assessment. He was then transferred by the IDF to a hospital for comprehensive checks before reuniting with his family.
The exact circumstances of his imprisonment remain under investigation by Israeli security forces, who have not yet disclosed how Abu-Hussein ended up in Lebanese detention.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the release, praising those involved in securing the handover. “This is a positive step and a sign of things to come,” Netanyahu said, pointing to the potential for further humanitarian gestures amid heightened regional tensions.
The release comes at a sensitive moment in Israeli-Lebanese relations, where hostage issues and prisoner exchanges remain deeply entangled with broader security concerns involving Hezbollah and ongoing border instability.
For Abu-Hussein and his family, however, Thursday marked the end of an ordeal and the beginning of a long-awaited homecoming.
