Just hours after the ceasefire between Israel and the armed Hezbollah organization went into force early on Wednesday morning, long-displaced inhabitants of south Lebanon began to return to their homes amid festivities.
After days of some of the most intensive airstrikes and skirmishes since the start of the war, the truce has provided comfort to the Mediterranean nation, while many questioned whether the agreement to pause fighting would last. Israel has threatened to launch an airstrike if Hezbollah violates the truce deal, which was declared on Tuesday.
Despite the Israeli military’s caution to avoid previously evacuated regions, hundreds of cars entered southern Lebanon.
Local officials reported that Israeli attacks killed at least 42 people in Lebanon on Tuesday. Additionally, Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens in the northern part of the nation.
Although it doesn’t address the horrific battle in Gaza, the Israel-Hezbollah truce is a significant first step in resolving the regional instability brought on by Hamas’ October 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel.
People hug each other upon their arrival at their building after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Associated Press/Hussein Malla photo
A day after the Hamas strike, Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel. With significant Israeli airstrikes throughout the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south in September, the fighting in Lebanon turned into a full-scale conflict.
The Health Ministry of Gaza reports that in the early 14-month conflict between Israel and Hamas, over 44,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 104,000 wounded.
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After almost 14 months of hard conflict, Gaza ns hope for a ceasefire.
Gaza Strip, Khan Younis After Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a truce, Palestinians expressed their hope on Wednesday that there would be a ceasefire in Gaza.
However, some were concerned that Israel would use more force on Gaza now that its troops were not engaged in combat with Hezbollah.
Mamdouh Yonis, a man who was relocated from the southern city of Rafah and is now residing in Khan Younis, told The Associated Press that the situation will worsen since Gaza will be under more pressure.
In Gaza, Palestinians are fervently awaiting a ceasefire deal that would put an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. According to local officials, who do not differentiate between combatants and civilians in their tally, it has already claimed the lives of almost 44,000 people.
When Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 250 more—roughly 100 of whom are still in Gaza—it set off the war.
International attempts to mediate a settlement have consistently failed, and the war is already in its fourteenth month with no end in sight.
In one location, they consent to a ceasefire, but not in another? Please show pity to the ladies, the elderly, and the children. Ahlam Abu Shalabi, a woman who was relocated from Gaza City, stated, “We are sitting in tents and it is now winter.”
Turkey applauds Lebanon’s truce.
Turkey’s ANKARA Turkey welcomed the ceasefire reached between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, expressing hope that it would lead to a lasting truce.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Turkey s Foreign Ministry also called on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to force it to strictly comply with the ceasefire and compensate for the damage it has caused in Lebanon.
The ministry also urged the establishment of permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, calling on Israel to end its aggressive policies.
Israeli military says it fired at cars in Lebanon after they approached restricted area
TEL AVIV, Israel The Israeli military said Wednesday that its forces opened fire in Lebanon on a number of cars that approached an area it said was restricted, as a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to take hold.
The military said the vehicles drove away. It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries as a result.
The Israeli military has warned residents of previously evacuated areas of Lebanon that had been evacuated, but displaced people have been streaming south to their homes.
The military said soldiers remained in position in southern Lebanon and that the air force was ready to act if needed. It said Israel s aerial defense array was also at the ready for any ceasefire violations.
France highlights its role in brokering the deal
France s foreign minister underlined his country s role in brokering an agreement that ended fighting between Israel and Lebanon s Hezbollah militant group alongside the U.S., saying the deal wouldn t have been possible without France s special relationship with its former protectorate.
It s a success for French diplomacy and we can be proud, said the minister, Jean-No l Barrot, speaking hours after the ceasefire went into effect Wednesday.
It is true that the United States have a privileged relationship with Israel. But with Lebanon, it s France that has very old ties, very close ties, the minister added. It would not have been possible to envisage a ceasefire in Lebanon without France being involved on the front line.
France will be involved in monitoring the ceasefire, Barrot noted, with 700 French soldiers deployed as part of the 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, that has been patrolling the border area between Lebanon and Israel for nearly 50 years.
The minister said France will also work to strengthen Lebanese troops that will deploy in the south of the country as part of the ceasefire, although he didn t specify what that might include.
Lebanese military warns people returning homes in south Lebanon to wait for Israeli troops to leave
BEIRUT The Lebanese military asked displaced people returning to southern Lebanon to avoid frontline villages and towns near the border where the Israeli military is still present until the troops withdraw.
Thousands of people have been returning to other previously evacuated areas in south Lebanon in defiance of an Israeli warning to avoid all previously evacuated areas. Many of those areas were hit by strikes just hours before the ceasefire took effect.
Iran welcomes ceasefire
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iran welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon s Hezbollah, Tehran s main militant partner in the Mideast.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei praised the ceasefire in a statement Wednesday morning.
Baghaei said that Iran still sought a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. But like Hezbollah, it s dropped the demand that a ceasefire also take place at the same time in the Gaza Strip.
He also called for the International Criminal Court to try the criminals of the occupying regime, referring to Israel. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel s former defense minister.
Celebrations and relief as displaced people return to Tyre
TYRE, Lebanon Displaced people started returning to the coastal city of Tyre on motorcycles and in cars early Wednesday, 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.
Husseini, who earlier fled a town near the coastal city, spoke to The Associated Press while in his car with family members.
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.
A couple of men shouted slogans praising slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.
Hussein Sweidan said he sees the ceasefire as a victory for Hezbollah. This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shia sect, and for all of Lebanon, he said.
Smoke rises over Beirut from overnight strikes
BEIRUT As dawn broke in Beirut, plumes of smoke were visible rising from places hit by Israeli strikes before the ceasefire took effect at 4 a.m. Residents of Lebanon s capital and its southern suburbs endured the most intense day of strikes since the war began on Tuesday.
Lebanon sees quiet, but recovery could be slow
BEIRUT As the ceasefire went into effect early Wednesday, much of Lebanon was quiet for the first time since late September, following weeks of intense overnight strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Some celebratory gunshots could be heard in parts of Beirut s southern suburbs, battered over the past two months.
Israel s Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee has warned displaced Lebanese not to return to their villages in southern Lebanon, but some videos circulating on social media show displaced Lebanese defying these calls and returning to villages in the south near the coastal city of Tyre.
Israeli troops are still present in parts of southern Lebanon after Israel launched a ground invasion in October.
Lebanese have also been displaced from other parts of the country, notably the southern Beirut suburbs and the eastern Bekaa province. It s unclear how long it will take cash-strapped Lebanon to rebuild these bombarded neighborhoods.
The war has displaced some 1.2 million people, according to the Lebanese government.
Israeli military says its evacuation orders in south Lebanon are in still in effect
JERUSALEM As the ceasefire took effect early Wednesday, Israel s military warned people with homes in areas of south Lebanon that it ordered evacuated to stay away for now.
Israeli military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued the warning on the social platform X.
You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area, Adraee wrote, using an acronym for the Israeli military. For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area.
There were no immediate signs of renewed fighting as the ceasefire took hold early Wednesday morning.
Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon begins
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon s Hezbollah militants has begun as a region on edge wonders whether it will hold.
The ceasefire announced Tuesday is a major step toward ending nearly 14 months of fighting sparked by the ongoingwar in Gazabetween Israel and Hamas.
Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement.
The ceasefire calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. An international panel led by the United States will monitor compliance.
The ceasefire began at 4 a.m. Wednesday, a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the start of the conflict that in recent weeks turned into all-out war.
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