Long-displaced residents of south Lebanon started returning to their homes hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group took effect early Wednesday morning. The ceasefire has brought relief across the 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. Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement, which was announced Tuesday.
Thousands of people made their way into southern Lebanon, defying a warning from the Israeli military to stay away from previously evacuated areas. At least 42 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local authorities. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens in the country’s north.
The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire marks the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but it does not address the devastating war in Gaza. Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’ attack. The fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south.
In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Lebanon’s caretaker government on Wednesday approved a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the militant Hezbollah group and Israel. The move was largely a formality but also signaled the government’s commitment to its part in the deal, including deploying Lebanese soldiers along the border with Israel and cooperating with United Nations peacekeepers.
The agreement is an implementation plan for U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 to end the last Israel-Hezbollah war but never was fully carried out. Its goal was for the Lebanese military to be the exclusive armed presence in southern Lebanon alongside U.N. peacekeepers, and for Hezbollah and Israeli forces to withdraw from the area.
According to a copy of the ceasefire agreement provided by the Lebanese government, the Lebanese military would gradually deploy in the south and dismantle unauthorized military infrastructure and weapons production facilities. The United States and France, in addition to UNIFIL peacekeepers, will monitor violations and support the process.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed relief over the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire and called on both sides to stick to the agreement. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel, but at the same time home to a Lebanese immigrant community of more than 100,000.
The speaker of Lebanon’s parliament called for another effort to fill the country’s long-vacant presidency just hours after a ceasefire to halt hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect. Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, as its deeply divided parliament has been unable to elect a new head of state.
One of the most powerful Iran-backed factions in Iraq said it would continue its operations in support of Gaza despite the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Iraqi militias have repeatedly launched attacks on Israel from Iraq in the nearly 14 months since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
Mohammed Kaafarani, who has lived through multiple conflicts with Israel, said the past two months were the worst of them all. He expressed hope for a better future without wars for his children and grandchildren.
Some people in Israel who have been displaced by fighting with Hezbollah say the ceasefire deal doesn’t make them feel secure enough to go home. Noy Friedman, displaced from the town of Shlomi to Haifa, expressed concerns about returning to her hometown.
Jordan welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, calling it an important step. The country stressed the need to stop Israeli aggression on Gaza and fully implement the ceasefire.
Palestinians in Gaza expressed hope for a ceasefire agreement to end the war between Hamas and Israel, though some feared increased pressure on Gaza now that Israel's forces were freed up from fighting Hezbollah.
