BEIRUT: The body of a Lebanese civilian was repatriated from Israel Wednesday, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ras Naqoura on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Juerg Montani, the head of the ICRC delegation in Lebanon, said that the organisation’s role was “strictly humanitarian and part of our ongoing work to restore and maintain contact between people detained or separated in connection with armed conflict and their families.”

"Sometimes this includes the repatriation of mortal remains to the families, an important step in their process of mourning and closure. The ICRC is acting in its capacity as a neutral intermediary at the request of the families and the Israeli and Lebanese authorities and with the full consent of all parties concerned."

So far in 2011, the ICRC has repatriated four Lebanese civilians and the remains of five others from Israel to Lebanon.

Thousands of Lebanese civilians, including many members or relatives of members of the South Lebanese Army, a militia affiliated with Israel during the Civil War, fled south across the border in 2000, following the Israeli Army’s withdrawal from Lebanon.