Southern Lebanon's Ali al-Taher ridge, which the Israeli army on Thursday said it captured, was a strategic position for Iran-backed Hezbollah, where it was believed to have established a command center.

Hezbollah did not confirm losing the highland, which is around 10 kilometers from the border with Israel and was targeted by several Israeli strikes in recent weeks despite a ceasefire.

MP Ihab Hamadeh of Hezbollah noted Friday that "there is still ambiguity surrounding the reality of Israel's control over the Ali al-Taher hill," in the first comment from the Iran-backed group regarding Israel’s overnight announcement.

"How can the Israeli enemy claim to control the Ali al-Taher hill when it continues to bombard and raid it relentlessly, knowing that it controls it from the air or by surrounding it geographically from all sides, without its forces being able to enter the facility or gain control of it on the ground," Hamadeh told Russia’s Sputnik radio.

President Joseph Aoun thanked the "United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump" in a statement Friday after the Red Cross transferred to Lebanon four more people detained by Israel, a day after a first person was freed.

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".

Iran is planning "a dangerous scenario" after it drew lessons from October 7, an Israeli media report said.

The report published in Maarif said Iran is preparing a coordinated attack on several fronts at the same time, including Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Yemen's Houthis, and Iraqi militias.

Israel's defense minister on Friday hailed the capture of a strategic highland from Hezbollah as solidifying Israel's "security zone" in Lebanon and vowed that troops would not leave it.

"The capture of the Ali al-Taher ridge marks the completion of the phase of securing control in the security zone in southern Lebanon," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Four civilians captured by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon -- two Lebanese and two Syrians -- will be released on Friday. A fifth civilian has already been handed over to the Lebanese army.

Lebanon said Thursday its army had received a man returned by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the first since Beirut called in August talks for the release of an initial group seized since the start of a 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday night that the Israeli army has cleared the strategic Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, which he said Hezbollah had developed as an extension of the Beaufort (al-Shakif) position.

According to Netanyahu, the ridge was used to threaten the northern Israeli settlements of Kiryat Shmona and Metula and was positioned as part of Hezbollah’s plans to potentially invade the Galilee.

Israel's military said on Thursday it had taken “operational control” of the strategic Ali Taher ridge area in southern Lebanon, the site of sporadic clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in recent weeks. It's where Hezbollah is believed to have an extensive underground military facility.

The military said troops had cleared Hezbollah fighters from two underground routes, killing some while others fled. It said operations were ongoing.

Lebanon and the European Union on Thursday launched the EU-Lebanon Joint Monitoring Committee, a new platform for strategic dialogue on EU-Lebanon cooperation.

The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri and Minister of Economy and Trade Amer Bisat, serving as Vice-Chair on behalf of the Minister of Finance, alongside EU Ambassador to Lebanon Sandra De Waele and Director for the Middle East and North Africa Division at the European Commission Henrike Trautmann.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that Israel decided to release five captive Lebanese civilians after “significant efforts” were made to “locate and repatriate the remains of leaders of Lebanon’s Jewish community who were abducted and killed” in the mid-1980s.

“As part of the negotiations with Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed officials to advance efforts to locate and repatriate the remains of leaders of Lebanon’s Jewish community who were abducted and killed by terrorist organizations in the mid-1980s,” the office said.