Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday thanked the United States and international organizations for their efforts that led to the release of the first group of Lebanese detainees held by Israel, describing the handover as an important first step toward restoring Lebanon’s full sovereignty.

Aoun singled out U.S. President Donald Trump and the International Committee of the Red Cross for their role in efforts that resulted in the release of the detainees.

The International Committee of the Red Cross facilitated the transfer of five people released from Israeli detention to Lebanon, with one transferred on Thursday and four others on Friday.

“This first step once again confirms the effectiveness of Lebanon’s firm position, in all its components, as well as the need to complete the required steps set out in the trilateral framework,” Aoun said in a statement.

He said the ultimate objective was to restore Lebanon’s full sovereignty over its territory, “with not a single inch of our land excluded and not a single person from our people left behind.”

Aoun congratulated the freed detainees and their families, while renewing his commitment to pursuing what he described as Lebanon’s full national demands and objectives.

He said Lebanon would continue working toward a country where all citizens could live with dignity in a free and sovereign state.

“May all Lebanese live with dignity in a free homeland, where the only weapons on its soil belong to its legitimate forces, and where the only authority over its people is that of their capable, just and protective state,” Aoun said.