Displaced people return to south Lebanon after Israel and Hezbollah agree to ceasefire

LAST UPDATE | 3 hrs ago

LONG-DISPLACED RESIDENTS OF southern Lebanon started returning to their homes amid celebrations hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group took effect early this morning.

The agreement between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect overnight after a US-brokered deal was approved by both sides yesterday, ending nearly 14 months of fighting.

The conflict began between the Israeli Defence Forces and the militant group in Lebanon after Hezbollah began rocket strikes on positions in Israel over the country’s actions in Gaza.

Israeli warplanes carried out the most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict and issued a record number of evacuation warnings yesterday.

At least 24 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities, as Israel signalled it aims to keep pummelling Hezbollah before the ceasefire is set to take hold at 4am local time on Wednesday.

Another huge air strike shook Beirut shortly after the ceasefire was announced.

‘Indescribable feeling’

But the ceasefire has already brought relief across the tiny Mediterranean nation, coming after days of some of the most intense airstrikes and clashes since the war began, though many wondered if the agreement to stop fighting would hold.

Displaced people started returning to the coastal city of Tyre on motorcycles and in cars, defying an Israeli military warning to stay away from previously evacuated areas.

Ahmad Husseini said returning to southern Lebanon was an “indescribable feeling” and praised speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, who led Lebanon’s negotiations with Washington.

“He made us and everyone proud.”

Meanwhile, sporadic celebratory gunfire could be heard at a main roundabout in the city, as people returning honked the horns of cars — some piled with mattresses — and residents cheered.

The ceasefire deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swathe of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border.

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Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides’ compliance.

Israel’s security cabinet approved the agreement late yesterday evening after it was presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said.

US President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the agreement “good news” and said his administration would make a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that he welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire. “Both sides must use the ceasefire to engage meaningfully to achieve a durable peace.

“There must be a massive surge of humanitarian aid and assistance, along with progress towards a lasting political settlement and reconstruction and recovery for Lebanon.

“Both sides must use the ceasefire to engage meaningfully to achieve a durable peace,” Martin said.

“There must be a massive surge of humanitarian aid and assistance, along with progress towards a lasting political settlement and reconstruction and recovery for Lebanon,” the Tánaiste said, adding that the ceasefire highlighted the “urgent need” for an end to violence in Gaza.

Israel call for the right to act

Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal.

Biden said Israel reserved the right to quickly resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce, but that the deal “was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities”.

Netanyahu’s office said Israel appreciated the US efforts in securing the deal but “reserves the right to act against every threat to its security”.

More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon in the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials.

The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.

Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country’s north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv.

At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.