Israel transferred spy Nassim Nasser to Lebanon, and got body parts from Hezbollah

Representatives of the Israeli branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were very surprised yesterday afternoon by the many calls they received from journalists, asking whether the rumors were true that a container was on its way to Israel with body parts of Israeli soldiers. Like many others in the country, they did not know then that the release of Nassim Nasser was part of an exchange deal.

Events begin to unfold at 8:30 A.M. A police vehicle with black curtains drawn over its windows leaves Nitzan Prison in Ramle, avoiding the media. Local authorities attempt throughout the day to conceal as much as possible concerning the swap. The IDF Spokesman's Office gives no details of any exchange, nor of the transfer of Nasser to Lebanon. Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera reports live from the border crossing, as does the Hezbollah TV network Al-Manar.

At 10:45 A.M., local representatives of the ICRC arrive at the Rosh Hanikra border crossing. Israeli ICRC spokeswoman Yael Segev-Eitan explains that their task is to escort Nasser from the Israeli base to the nearby UNIFIL base, where he is to be received by the Tyre office of the ICRC.

At 11:10 A.M., the police car carrying Nasser arrives at the border crossing. He is taken out of the vehicle a few hundred meters away from the media, and undergoes a medical check-up and a security interrogation by Israeli officials. His attorney, Smadar Ben-Natan, will say later her client was "excited and happy."

At 11:40 A.M. Nasser is transferred to the UNIFIL base, and a few minutes later to the Lebanese side of the border, near the village of Naqoura where Hezbollah activists are waiting. After a press conference with Sheikh Nabil Qauq, a Hezbollah leader in southern Lebanon, Nasser is welcomed in his village, Bazuriyah.

At noon, the Hezbollah liaison, Wafiq Safa, surprises the ICRC in Lebanon by announcing a "humanitarian gesture," and transfers to them a crate about 1 x 1.5 meters in size, which he says contains body parts of Israeli soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon War.

The ICRC officials fold down the back seat of their car to accommodate the crate and head back to the UNIFIL base.

Al-Manar reports the move and broadcasts exclusive footage. The Israeli ICRC office is flooded with questions from the media, but is unable to respond.

At 12:15 P.M., ICRC staff return to the crossing, together with journalists who had left an hour earlier, arriving at 12:40.

At 12:50 P.M., Magen David Adom emergency service and military ambulances arrive at the border along with IDF rabbis. The Northern Command's chief rabbi says he was called to the border only about an hour before.

At 2:15 P.M. military sappers examine the container, which is then opened in the presence of the military rabbi and the ICRC.

At 2:40 P.M. the container with the body parts is placed in an MDA ambulance and leaves under police escort for the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine.