The Red Cross yesterday said it had facilitated the transfer to Lebanon of four more people detained by Israel, a day after a first person was freed.
Israel is believed to have seized dozens of people from Lebanon amidst its recent wars with Hezbollah.
"The International Committee of the Red Cross, at the request of the relevant parties, facilitated the transfer to Lebanon of five individuals released from Israeli detention," the ICRC said in a statement.
"One individual was transferred on Thursday, and four others on Friday," it added.
Israel on Thursday said it had decided to release five civilian captives, freeing the first of them that day.
The four freed yesterday are two Lebanese and two Syrian nationals, according to a Lebanese official who requested anonymity.
An AFP correspondent yesterday saw three ICRC vehicles arrive from Israeli-occupied parts of southern Lebanon at the Lebanese army checkpoint in Al-Amiriya, which marks the start of the territory controlled by Beirut.
The convoy was escorted by two Lebanese army vehicles to the southern city of Tyre, where the released individuals were to undergo medical examinations and be questioned by the military.
Ahmad Atwi, a resident of the south, waited at the checkpoint to see if his friend, seized by Israel last year, would be released.
"I hope he will be among the released," he told AFP.
The five released individuals are the first to be freed since Beirut called in August talks with Israel for the release of an initial group seized since the start of a 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that "after their interrogation was completed, it became clear that they are civilians who... have not engaged in terrorism".
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in a statement expressed his gratitude "for all the efforts exerted, particularly by the United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump, and by international bodies, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross".
"This first step reaffirms the strength of the firm Lebanese position," he added.
Lebanon began direct talks with Israel in April, after Hezbollah dragged the country into the Middle East war with strikes on Israel in March in support of its backer Tehran.
Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.
Israel on Thursday, through the ICRC, freed Malek Ghazi, whose family had lost contact with him in October last year when he went out to exercise near his southeastern hometown of Ain Ata.
Lebanese authorities have not officially announced the number of citizens Israel seized during that war and a subsequent 2026 conflict, but a list of more than 30 people has been compiled by their families and a committee working on their cases.
After the latest round of Lebanon-Israel talks in Rome last month, a Lebanese official said Israel gave Beirut a list of individuals to demand the return of their remains.
The United States, which is sponsoring the Lebanon-Israel talks, commended both Israel and Lebanon "for demonstrating good faith through these initial steps", a State Department spokesperson said, added that Washington hoped "this will serve as the basis for expanded discussions on other civilian issues".