Displaced people return to south Lebanon as ceasefire appears to hold
UNB
Publish: 27 Nov 2024, 02:56 PM
Nov
27 (AP/UNB) - Long-displaced residents of south Lebanon started returning to
their homes amid celebrations hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the
Hezbollah militant group took effect early Wednesday morning.
The ceasefire has
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. Israel has said it will
attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement, which was announced
Tuesday.
Hundreds of cars 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.
End/UNB/AP/MB