BEIRUT: A 22-year-old Lebanese woman and the remains of another civilian were repatriated from Israel to Lebanon Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement.
The hand-over took place in Ras al-Naqoura on the Israeli-Lebanese border in the presence of the ICRC, the statement said.
At the same time, the corpse of a Lebanese civilian who died in Israel was repatriated in order to be buried at home, the statement said, adding that the ICRC had carried out the handover as a neutral intermediary between Lebanon and Israel.
“Our role is 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,” said Georges Comninos, head of the ICRC delegation in Lebanon.
“The ICRC is acting in its capacity as a neutral intermediary at the request of the Israeli and Lebanese authorities and with the full consent of all parties concerned.”
In 2010, the ICRC repatriated six Lebanese civilians and the mortal remains of six others from Israel to Lebanon. The ICRC has been permanently present in Lebanon since 1967.