There is a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict

After almost a year of combat that has claimed thousands of lives, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was established on Wednesday. Despite warnings from both sides, displaced residents are coming home in the south.There is a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict

Beginning at 4:00 am (0200 GMT), the truce is expected to end the conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon and tens of thousands in Israel.

As hundreds of displaced residents returned to their homes after the truce, traffic on the road leading to Sidon, the largest city in the south, has been heavy since early Wednesday, according to AFP correspondents.

As they headed south, AFP photographers observed cars and minibuses full with people packing blankets, beds, and bags. Some of them were singing and honking in celebration.

Residents of south Lebanon were cautioned by the Israeli military not to approach military installations and communities that its forces had ordered vacated.

“pending abandonment”

The army of Lebanon declared that it was “taking the necessary measures” to send troops south just hours after the truce was established.

According to a statement, “The army command urges citizens to hold off on returning to frontline villages and towns that Israeli enemy forces have infiltrated, awaiting their withdrawal.”

Rescuers with ties to Hezbollah also cautioned displaced persons against going back to their houses until authorities declared in a formal announcement that the ceasefire was fully implemented.

As a large number of displaced persons return to their homes, the Iran-backed organisation is also planning media tours of the south and east of Lebanon as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut on Wednesday morning.

Israeli troops have been sent across the border to fight Hezbollah militants, and large areas of Lebanon have been bombarded by airstrikes during the conflict.

After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah launched cross-border attacks in support of its Palestinian affiliate.

Hamas declared it was prepared for its own ceasefire in Gaza and praised the one in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed his ministers had agreed to a stop, while US President Joe Biden announced the ceasefire deal on Tuesday.

For 60 days

US envoy Amos Hochstein stated in an interview with Al Jazeera prior to the truce’s implementation that Israeli forces stationed two to three kilometres (1.2 to 1.8 miles) from the Lebanon border “will remain in place for now” and withdraw gradually over the course of the following sixty days, starting in the “next several days, or first couple of weeks.”

Hochstein stated in the interview, “But there is a lot to do in these 60 days.”

He noted that Lebanese forces will advance when Israeli forces leave, saying, “The Lebanese army cannot deploy that many forces that quickly all across the south when they haven’t been there in such a long time.”

A recurrence of 2006, when the war ended without the agreement being implemented, which led to this year’s conflict, is what we don’t want.

Israel’s main military supporter and friend is the United States, and Biden praised the agreement as “good news” and a “new start” for Lebanon.

Netanyahu expressed gratitude to Biden for helping to broker the agreement, stating that it will free Israel to concentrate on Iran and Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu stated that Israel will have “full” freedom to act against Hezbollah under the parameters of the Lebanon truce in the event that the Iran-backed organisation poses a new danger.

The end of Israel’s “aggression” in Lebanon was hailed by Iran’s foreign ministry on Wednesday, which also emphasised Tehran’s “firm support for the Lebanese government, nation, and resistance.”

According to Lebanon, since gunfights started in October 2023, at least 3,823 people have died there, the majority since late September, when Israel intensified its operation against Hezbollah.

According to sources, at least 82 Israeli soldiers and 47 civilians have died in the conflict with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah claimed assaults on northern Israel on Tuesday, while Israel launched a series of missiles on the centre of the Lebanese city.

Less than an hour before the truce took effect, AFPTV reported that airstrikes also struck the southern suburbs of Beirut early on Wednesday.

Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, mediated the truce on behalf of Hezbollah, which did not take part in any direct negotiations.

It has not yet made an official statement regarding the truce.

Pay attention to Iran: Hezbollah has been severely weakened but not destroyed by the war in Lebanon.

It lost a number of senior commanders in raids and its long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a devastating air attack in September.

Netanyahu claimed that a ceasefire in Lebanon would allow Israel to return its focus to Gaza, where it has been engaged in combat with Hamas since October of last year.

“Hamas is left to battle alone when Hezbollah is removed from the scene. Netanyahu stated that Israel would also concentrate on “the Iranian threat” and that “our pressure on it will intensify.”

Hezbollah, Hamas, and other regional proxies that have targeted Israel are mostly supported by Iran.

Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, Iran has responded to attacks that are ascribed to Israel with two rounds of missiles and drones.

According to the UN, the conflict has displaced around 900,000 people from their homes in Lebanon.

After the Lebanese civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 1990, ended, Hezbollah was the only armed group that refused to give up its weapons.

The group is thought to have a more potent armament than the national army and has so far maintained a significant presence in several sections of Lebanon.

Biden stated that the United States and France would make sure the agreement was carried out in its entirety.