One tangible result from the new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah can be seen on the roads in Lebanon: Thousands of cars packed to the gills with mattresses, furniture, and suitcases as families displaced by fighting in the south returned home, reports the BBC. The big question, however, is whether their homes will still be standing when they get there. "Many of the villages the people were likely returning to have been destroyed," notes Reuters. But the displaced families hoped to avoid paying another month's rent in their temporary lodgings, many told the outlet.
The New York Times reports that the road heading south from the capital of Beirut was clogged with vehicles, necessities stacked on their roofs. "We can finally go home," 39-year-old Hanna Trad, who fled her village of Maarakh in the south, tells the newspaper. "We're so happy, thank God." Under the deal brokered by the US and France, Israeli troops will withdraw from Lebanon over the next two months, Hezbollah says it won't take up positions near the Israeli border, and the Lebanese army will move into the south to help enforce the agreement, per the Times.
The ceasefire to end 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah—ignited by the Hamas raid into Israel from Gaza—appeared to be holding Thursday morning, per the AP. However, Israel said it fired upon Hezbollah operatives it spotted near the border. "Force must give way to dialogue and negotiation," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. "This has now been achieved in Lebanon, and it must happen as soon as possible in the Gaza Strip." (More Lebanon stories.)
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