Lebanese return to ‘uninhabitable’ areas as ceasefire with Israel largely holds

People uprooted by Lebanon’s war began returning to devastated towns and communities on Friday, with many finding their homes destroyed or uninhabitable and hesitant to stay out of fear of a ceasefire between Lebanon and Lebanon. Hezbollah Israel could fall apart.The United States has banned Israel from further bombing of Lebanon, President Trump said on Friday, one day after announcing a 10-day ceasefire. “Israel will no longer bomb Lebanon,” Trump said in a social media post.

“The United States prohibits them from doing this, enough is enough!!!” he said. The deal between Lebanon and Israel adds to optimism that the parallel war between the United States and Iran may be coming to an end.Although Trump said Lebanon and Israel would work to reach a long-term deal, the ceasefire left big questions. Notably, it does not require Israel to withdraw its soldiers occupying parts of the south, and the Israeli defense minister has said Israeli forces will continue to demolish homes he claims are used by Hezbollah. Iran-backed Hezbollah operates independently of the Lebanese state and says it reserves the “right to resist.”An Israeli attack killed at least one person in southern Lebanon late on Friday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it was examining the report.In the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, what were once apartment buildings are now mountains of rubble, and the smell of death hangs in the air. Ali Hamza said he found his home intact, but people are now afraid to return.“It’s impossible to live in such an environment and smell. As difficult as it was to be displaced, it is still difficult to fully return now. ” He collected textbooks from home: “We lost everything; we didn’t want them to lose the school year.” In Qasmiyeh, southern Lebanon, cars drove through a makeshift crossing over the Litani River that had been hastily set up after a ceasefire came into effect at midnight local time (2100 GMT). Israel destroyed all bridges over the Litani River during the war and blew up one in Qasmiye on Thursday.Hezbollah on Friday expressed a “cautious commitment” to a ceasefire but said it must ensure a cessation of all Israeli hostilities and limit the “freedom of action” of Israeli forces in Lebanon.Reuters