Middle East latest: Displaced people return to south Lebanon as ceasefire appears to hold
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 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.
Thousands of people 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.
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Jordan says ceasefire is ‘an important step’
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan on Wednesday welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying it should be followed by an international effort to wind down the war in Gaza.
In a statement, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the ceasefire “an important step.” But it said “Israeli aggression on Gaza” must be stopped.
Jordan expressed support for Lebanon and stressed the importance of fully implementing the ceasefire.
Jordan is a close Western ally that made peace with Israel in 1994. But Israel’s devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, has strained relations. The country has a large Palestinian population which has demonstrated regularly against the war in Gaza.
Gaza residents hope for ceasefire after nearly 14 months of grueling war
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Palestinians said Wednesday they hoped there would be a ceasefire in Gaza now that Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a truce.
But some feared that Israel would be more heavy handed with Gaza now that its forces were freed up from the fighting against Hezbollah.
“The situation will be worse, because the pressure will be more on Gaza,” said Mamdouh Yonis, a man currently living in Khan Younis after being displaced from the southern city of Rafah, told The Associated Press.
Palestinians in Gaza are desperately waiting for a ceasefire agreement that would end the war between Hamas and Israel. It’s already killed over 44,000 people according to local authorities, who don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.
The war was sparked when Hamas raided southern Israel in Oct. 2023, killing 1,200 and kidnapping 250, about 100 of whom remain in Gaza.
International mediation efforts meant to clinch a deal have faltered repeatedly, and the war is now in its 14th month with no end in sight.
“They agree to a ceasefire in one place and not in the other? Have mercy on the children, the elderly and the women. We are sitting in tents and now it is winter,” said Ahlam Abu Shalabi, a woman displaced from Gaza City.
Turkey welcomes ceasefire in Lebanon
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey welcomed the ceasefire reached between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, expressing hope that it would lead to a lasting truce.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also called on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to force it to “strictly comply with the ceasefire and compensate for the damage it has caused in Lebanon.”
The ministry also urged the establishment of “permanent and comprehensive” ceasefire in Gaza, calling on Israel to “end its aggressive policies.”
Israeli military says it fired at cars in Lebanon after they approached restricted area
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said Wednesday that its forces opened fire in Lebanon on a number of cars that approached an area it said was restricted, as a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to take hold.
The military said the vehicles drove away. It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries as a result.
The Israeli military has warned residents of previously evacuated areas of Lebanon that had been evacuated, but displaced people have been streaming south to their homes.
The military said soldiers remained in position in southern Lebanon and that the air force was ready to act if needed. It said Israel’s aerial defense array was also at the ready for any ceasefire violations.
France highlights its role in brokering the deal
France’s foreign minister underlined his country’s role in brokering an agreement that ended fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group alongside the U.S., saying the deal wouldn’t have been possible without France’s special relationship with its former protectorate.
“It’s a success for French diplomacy and we can be proud,” said the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking hours after the ceasefire went into effect Wednesday.
“It is true that the United States have a privileged relationship with Israel. But with Lebanon, it’s France that has very old ties, very close ties,” the minister added. “It would not have been possible to envisage a ceasefire in Lebanon without France being involved on the front line.”
France will be involved in monitoring the ceasefire, Barrot noted, with 700 French soldiers deployed as part of the 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, that has been patrolling the border area between Lebanon and Israel for nearly 50 years.
The minister said France will also work to strengthen Lebanese troops that will deploy in the south of the country as part of the ceasefire, although he didn’t specify what that might include.
Lebanese military warns people returning homes in south Lebanon to wait for Israeli troops to leave
BEIRUT — The Lebanese military asked displaced people returning to southern Lebanon to avoid frontline villages and towns near the border where the Israeli military is still present until the troops withdraw.
Thousands of people have been returning to other previously evacuated areas in south Lebanon in defiance of an Israeli warning to avoid all previously evacuated areas. Many of those areas were hit by strikes just hours before the ceasefire took effect.
Iran welcomes ceasefire
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Tehran’s main militant partner in the Mideast.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei praised the ceasefire in a statement Wednesday morning.
Baghaei said that Iran still sought a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. But like Hezbollah, it’s dropped the demand that a ceasefire also take place at the same time in the Gaza Strip.
He also called for the International Criminal Court to try the “criminals of the occupying regime,” referring to Israel. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s former defense minister.
Celebrations and relief as displaced people return to Tyre
TYRE, Lebanon — Displaced people started returning to the coastal city of Tyre on motorcycles and in cars early Wednesday, defying an Israeli military warning to stay away from previously evacuated areas.
Ahmad Husseini said returning to southern Lebanon was an “indescribable feeling” and praised Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, who led Lebanon’s negotiations with Washington. “He made us and everyone proud.”
Husseini, who earlier fled a town near the coastal city, spoke to The Associated Press while in his car with family members.
Meanwhile, sporadic celebratory gunfire could be heard at a main roundabout in the city, as people returning honked the horns of cars — some piled with mattresses — and residents cheered.
A couple of men shouted slogans praising slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.
Hussein Sweidan said he sees the ceasefire as a victory for Hezbollah. “This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shia sect, and for all of Lebanon,” he said.
Smoke rises over Beirut from overnight strikes
BEIRUT — As dawn broke in Beirut, plumes of smoke were visible rising from places hit by Israeli strikes before the ceasefire took effect at 4 a.m. Residents of Lebanon’s capital and its southern suburbs endured the most intense day of strikes since the war began on Tuesday.
Lebanon sees quiet, but recovery could be slow
BEIRUT — As the ceasefire went into effect early Wednesday, much of Lebanon was quiet for the first time since late September, following weeks of intense overnight strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Some celebratory gunshots could be heard in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, battered over the past two months.
Israel’s Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee has warned displaced Lebanese not to return to their villages in southern Lebanon, but some videos circulating on social media show displaced Lebanese defying these calls and returning to villages in the south near the coastal city of Tyre.
Israeli troops are still present in parts of southern Lebanon after Israel launched a ground invasion in October.
Lebanese have also been displaced from other parts of the country, notably the southern Beirut suburbs and the eastern Bekaa province. It’s unclear how long it will take cash-strapped Lebanon to rebuild these bombarded neighborhoods.
The war has displaced some 1.2 million people, according to the Lebanese government.
Israeli military says its evacuation orders in south Lebanon are in still in effect
JERUSALEM — As the ceasefire took effect early Wednesday, Israel’s military warned people with homes in areas of south Lebanon that it ordered evacuated to stay away for now.
Israeli military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued the warning on the social platform X.
“You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area,” Adraee wrote, using an acronym for the Israeli military. “For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area.”
There were no immediate signs of renewed fighting as the ceasefire took hold early Wednesday morning.
Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon begins
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants has begun as a region on edge wonders whether it will hold.
The ceasefire announced Tuesday is a major step toward ending nearly 14 months of fighting sparked by the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement.
The ceasefire calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. An international panel led by the United States will monitor compliance.
The ceasefire began at 4 a.m. Wednesday, a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the start of the conflict that in recent weeks turned into all-out war.
