Thousands head home as US-brokered truce holds in Lebanon

A fragile calm settled over parts of Lebanon on Friday as a 10-day ceasefire brokered by the United States took hold between Israel and Hezbollah, prompting thousands of displaced families to begin returning home despite lingering uncertainty and destruction.

By early morning, traffic jammed the route leading south to the damaged Qasmiyeh bridge over the Litani River, a critical crossing linking the coastal city of Tyre to northern regions. Vehicles piled high with mattresses, suitcases and salvaged belongings inched forward through a single reopened lane, hastily repaired after an Israeli airstrike had damaged it just a day earlier.

Drivers heading toward their villages along coastal highways cheered each other, flashed victory signs and exchanged blessings in a display of cautious optimism.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict displaced more than a million Lebanese citizens. Despite warnings from Lebanese officials to delay their return, many families began moving toward southern Lebanon immediately after the ceasefire was declared. The truce appeared largely intact overnight, offering the first real pause in hostilities after weeks of intense bombardment.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has cycled through several wars over decades. Fighting had intensified following the outbreak of the Gaza war last year. Though Israel and Lebanon reached a deal to end hostilities in November 2024, Israel continued near-daily strikes in what it described as efforts to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from regrouping. The conflict escalated into a full-scale invasion after Hezbollah resumed missile attacks on Israel in response to Israel’s military operations against Iran.

In southern villages like Jibsheet, residents returned to flattened apartment blocks and streets covered with rubble, concrete chunks, twisted aluminum shutters and dangling electrical wires—testament to the intensity of Israel’s bombing campaign.

“I feel free being back,” said Zainab Fahas, 23, surveying the devastation. “But look, they destroyed everything—the square, the houses, the shops, everything.”

Many returnees expressed doubt that the ceasefire would hold. “Israel doesn’t want peace,” said Ali Wahdan, a 27-year-old medic walking on crutches over the rubble of the emergency services headquarters in Jibsheet. Wahdan had been badly wounded in an Israeli airstrike during the first week of the war. “I wish it were different, but this war will continue.”

In Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik, entire buildings were reduced to rubble after weeks of intense Israeli strikes. Ahmad Lahham, 48, waved a yellow Hezbollah flag while standing on what remained of his apartment building, which had also housed a branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, Hezbollah’s financial arm.

“We are at the service of the fighters,” Lahham said, pledging his continued loyalty to the group. He praised Iran’s role in the ceasefire negotiations, claiming Tehran’s pressure on the U.S. led to the truce, while condemning Lebanon’s direct talks with Israel.

Sadek Slim, Haret Hreik’s deputy mayor, told reporters that Israel had struck the neighborhood 62 times over the previous six weeks. “We’ve been able to clear the rubble of partially damaged buildings, but for those destroyed, we will need special equipment,” he said at a press briefing.

The area was gridlocked with traffic as people returned to assess damage to their homes. Hezbollah supporters rode through on scooters, waving the group’s flag. The highway south was clogged with families in cars packed with possessions, many sitting in traffic for hours as a dust storm compounded their difficulties. Aid workers distributed water bottles to those stranded in the heat.

At Al-Najda al Shaabiya Hospital in Nabatiyeh, officials reported that the day before the ceasefire had seen some of the heaviest Israeli strikes of the conflict. Hospital Director Mona Abou Zeid said casualties continued arriving from nearby bombardments until about an hour after the midnight ceasefire took effect.

Among the wounded was 33-year-old Mahmoud Sahmarani, who had stepped outside to buy charcoal when an Israeli strike hit his five-story building, killing his father and cousin. “Israel should have withdrawn from Lebanon,” he said from his hospital bed, his left eye swollen shut and his head wrapped in bandages. “If we don’t get them out, they will continue to kill us.”

In downtown Beirut, makeshift tent camps still housed displaced families weighing the risks of returning south. Some had begun packing their belongings while others remained hesitant.

“Our homes in the south are gone, destroyed,” said Ali Balhas from Siddiqeen in Tyre province. “Israel is deceptive. You never really know its policies or how it will act toward people.”

Ahmad Ramadan, a 42-year-old father of three caught in the traffic bottleneck, said he had initially planned to wait out the ceasefire at his cousin’s apartment in Beirut but couldn’t resist checking on his house in Tyre.

“We are going to check on our house, just quickly, and come back. We just need to know if there’s damage,” he said. “Even if we’re waiting for hours here, it’s worth knowing what happened.”