Israel requests transfer of Jewish remains from Lebanon

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is aligned with Hezbollah, reports that Israel has requested the transfer of Jewish remains buried in Beirut and Sidon during ongoing negotiations for a permanent settlement. The Israeli side noted that many of those buried have relatives currently living in Israel. There has been no official response from Beirut regarding the request. The issue has been raised within the context of negotiations concerning Lebanese prisoners held by Israel. According to Al-Akhbar, Israel has proposed that the transfer of remains be part of a 'civilian prisoner exchange agreement.' This proposal would reportedly involve the transfer of remains and the release of only a portion of Lebanese prisoners, excluding Hezbollah fighters. Jewish communities lived in Lebanon for centuries. Lebanon was the only Arab country where the Jewish population increased after the establishment of Israel in 1948, reaching approximately 10,000. This community dwindled to a few hundred by the 1970s and is now estimated to consist of only a few dozen people. The Saudi-based Asharq News reported last week that negotiations in Rome included a 'legal' track regarding Lebanese prisoners in Israeli custody, separate from discussions on detained Hezbollah fighters, describing the atmosphere as positive. Israel and Lebanon reached a framework for an initial agreement during talks in Washington in June. This framework includes the disarmament of Hezbollah, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the region, starting with pilot zones. The two sides held their seventh round of US-mediated talks last week. These discussions followed Hezbollah's decision in March to fire rockets at Israel in support of Iran, drawing Lebanon into the wider Middle East conflict. Two days after the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February, Hezbollah attacked Israel in solidarity with Tehran. The Israeli military responded with airstrikes and ground operations, seizing a strip of territory in southern Lebanon approximately 10 kilometres deep. Following these clashes, over one million Lebanese civilians were displaced, and Israel has stated it is dismantling significant terrorist infrastructure in the captured areas.