Displaced Lebanese people have started returning to the south of the country amid hopes that the embryonic ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel will hold.
Civilians began moving south towards their homes shortly after the truce, announced overnight by United States President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, took effect in the early hours of Wednesday.
The Lebanese army was also quick to announce that it was preparing to deploy to the Israeli-invaded south and “carry out its mission” under United Nations Resolution 1701.
The pledge to respect the 2006 resolution, which requires Hezbollah to move away from the border with Israel, is at the centre of the ceasefire agreement.
The military called on people not to return to front-line villages until after the Israeli military withdraws. However, a tide of civilians has been heading for home.
Reporting from the Mediterranean coastal city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, media’s Zeina Khodr said that with signs that the ceasefire is holding, thousands of people were making their way home.
Some were waving the “victory” sign, as for many, a return home is a victory in itself, she said. However, it remains unclear if all areas will be accessible, with the Israeli army saying that its forces are still operating in some parts and evacuation orders still in place.
A sense of relief reigns across Lebanon, Khodr reported, but the optimism remains “guarded … because people are afraid that this is still a very fragile truce”.
The Lebanese and Israeli militaries have urged people to remain cautious and refrain from heading south while the Israeli military remains on the ground.
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