Thousands of Lebanese civilians are returning to their destroyed homes, hours after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect
The US-brokered ceasefire to end 13 months of fighting began at 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) and so far appears to be holding
"My family spent their lifetime building this. We lived here for 25 years and now it is all gone," a resident of Dahieh, southern Beirut, tells the BBC
Israeli troops began a land invasion of Lebanon almost two months ago, in response to almost a year of rocket attacks from Hezbollah
The ceasefire in Lebanon will not directly affect Israel's war in Gaza. Hamas officials have reacted positively to the deal, saying they are "ready" for a ceasefire in Gaza
It comes as Israel says it will lodge an appeal of the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his former defence minister over alleged war crimes in Gaza
'In one night, everything was gone' - Dahieh resident
The suburb of Dahieh bore the brunt of Israeli strikes on Beirut during the fighting. It's where Hezbollah is based in the city.
The BBC visited the area earlier to see what people who evacuated will be returning to:
BBC sees destruction in southern Beirut suburb
Image source, Lebanese Army/XThe Lebanese PM said the cabinet had today agreed to boost its military presence in the south
The Lebanese army has just released a statement saying it's strengthening its presence in southern Lebanon, as per the ceasefire deal.
It says military units are moving to the southern Litani area where they will be stationed in the locations designated for them.
Residents returning to their homes in southern Lebanon, especially in the districts of Tyre, Jbeil and Marjayoun, are urged to respond to instructions from military units, and not to approach areas where the Israeli army is still present.
While some people in southern Lebanon are already returning to inspect the damage to their homes, the Israeli military has warned people not to head south between certain times, as the phased withdrawal continues.
In a social media post, IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee sets a curfew, stressing that it is "absolutely forbidden" to travel south of the Litani river from 17:00 local time today until tomorrow morning at 07:00.
He warns residents that anyone who heads south of the Litani river will be dealt with "firmly" by Israeli Defense Forces.
Adraee also repeats an earlier warning that people shouldn't go towards areas where IDF forces are based. “We remind you that the IDF is still deployed in its positions in southern Lebanon in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement," he adds.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe ceasefire has been described as a foreign policy triumph for the US
We reported earlier on about how the US played a key role in helping Israel and Hezbollah finally reach an agreement on a ceasefire in Lebanon.
America's national security adviser Jake Sullivan tells CBS, the BBC's US partner, that it took "weeks and months" of "relentless American diplomacy" to find a "permanent end" to the war north of Israel.
Biden will hand over presidential duties to Donald Trump in January and Sullivan says "what we're looking to do is to hand off a situation where our enemies are degraded, when the United States is not dragged into a war in the Middle East, and where Israel's security is assured".
He adds that his team has had "good communication" with the incoming government, and says that he is "glad" to see that Donald Trump has supported the ceasefire agreement.
A Hezbollah MP has told the BBC that the group accepted the ceasefire deal because it "wanted to see the end of the carnage and the genocide against the civilians".
Speaking to Newshour on the BBC World Service, Ibrahim al-Mousawi says Hezbollah will comply with the UN Security Council resolution 1701.
The resolution creates a buffer zone in southern Lebanon between Israeli and Hezbollah forces, with only Lebanese and UN forces occupying the area.
Al-Mousawi, who represents Hezbollah in the Lebanese parliament, also tells the programme: "We have the right to defend our occupied territories against any attack from the Israeli side – I believe we have the right to defend ourselves."
Lucy Williamson
Reporting from northern Israel
From the Israeli village of Menara, the sound of gunfire from across the border marked the first day of ceasefire; Israeli machine gunfire, clear and regular, echoing in the empty kibbutz.
Israeli forces were responding to suspected infiltrations, residents said. Local commanders told us they had been warned that Hezbollah anti-tank units had returned to the region.
Menara sits face to face with the Lebanese village of Meiss el-Jabal.
Three-quarters of the buildings here have been destroyed in almost 14 months of fighting, along with the electricity, sewage and gas supplies.
The roof of the communal kitchen, caved in from a direct hit, lies tangled in hills of concrete and metal on the floor.
In house after house, the telltale tattoos of shrapnel damage, and rough-edged holes from anti-tank missiles have left homes burned out and unsafe.
With the ceasefire agreement, residents are beginning to discuss what it would take to move back home.
Repairing this kibbutz will take months. But rebuilding trust could take longer still.
The damage here isn’t only a logistical challenge, it’s a reminder of what Hezbollah weapons can do.
David Gritten
BBC News
More now from the text of the ceasefire.
The new ceasefire deal states that "Lebanon’s official military and security forces will be the only armed groups, arms, and related material deployed in the southern Litani Area", apart from the UN peacekeeping force (Unifil) that is already deployed there.
Without mentioning Hezbollah, it says the Lebanese government will instruct the army to stop the unauthorised entry of weapons into Lebanon, dismantle unauthorised weapons production facilities, and "dismantle all infrastructure, and military positions, and confiscate all unauthorised arms" in the southern Litani area.
A total of 10,000 Lebanese army troops are to be deployed to the south to start the dismantling work as Israel withdraws its forces in a "phased manner" over no more than 60 days, the text adds.
The document also includes a map of the southern Litani area that shows it is larger than Unifil’s existing area of operations in two areas – extending north of the Litani around the village of Yohmor, and extending east of the town of Hasbaya.
David Gritten
BBC News
The Lebanese government has published the official text of its 13-point ceasefire agreement with Israel, external that ended more than a year of fighting with the Hezbollah movement.
The document includes more details about the terms which were laid out by US President Joe Biden and other US officials last night.
The text states that the basis of the deal is the "full implementation, without violation" of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
The resolution required, among other things, Hezbollah to remove its fighters and weapons from the area between the Blue Line - the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel - and the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) to the north. Israel says that was never implemented, while Lebanon says Israel’s violations included military flights over its territory.
Image source, ReutersThe Egyptian president pictured last month in Russia
Leaders in the region are using the ceasefire in Lebanon to reiterate pressure for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II both stressed the need for "access to humanitarian aid without restrictions or conditions" in Gaza, according to a statement from Egypt.
The two leaders - who met for talks in Cairo - welcomed the ceasefire in Lebanon and emphasised their keenness to see Lebanon "maintain security, sovereignty, and stability".
BBC Monitoring
Israeli media say the ceasefire after more than a year of cross-border fighting with Hezbollah has broken a link made by the Lebanese armed group between the conflict and the ongoing war in Gaza.
An analyst for the mass-circulation Yediot Ahronot daily, Avi Issacharoff, wrote that the first achievement of the ceasefire deal in Lebanon was "the disconnection of the northern front from the one in Gaza".
"Hezbollah is folding with its tail between its legs on that point," Issacharoff added, referring to Hezbollah’s previous insistence that it would only hold fire if Israel ended its military campaign in Gaza.
The Iran-backed group began firing rockets at Israel after the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023, in support of Hamas.
"The disconnection of the arenas is an Israeli victory, an achievement Netanyahu can chalk up for himself," wrote Ravit Hecht, a columnist in the liberal Haaretz daily.
Carine Torbey
BBC Arabic correspondent, in Beirut
There are marked differences in how Israel has approached its two main regional adversaries - Hamas in Gaza as opposed to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
While Gaza is part of an entity currently under Israeli occupation, Lebanon is a sovereign state.
Despite its massive military capabilities and its supremacy in the air, Israel has been suffering in its ground operation in Lebanon. After almost two months it has failed to secure control of towns in the south, nor has it been able to neutralise Hezbollah’s rocket-launching capacity towards its north and beyond.
Hezbollah has also been able to extend its attacks further into Israel, disrupting life in major cities there and causing casualties.
This comes as the Israeli army has suffered a rising number of casualties in south Lebanon.
Image source, ReutersA home in northern Israel thought to have been damaged by Hezbollah projectiles fired from Lebanon
Israel has also not been able to create conditions for the return of its displaced residents to the north. This could have played a major role in convincing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Add to that the exhaustion of the Israeli army and the political and economic effects of having to draw more and more reservists into the conflict.
Dr Leila Nicolas, the author of Global and Regional Strategies in the Middle East, also says that “the Israelis don’t have a clear plan for the next day in Gaza.”
She adds that this is something that could be left until after Donald Trump becomes US president in January.
In contrast, a clear framework for agreement in Lebanon already exists and is the base upon which the terms of the ceasefire have been negotiated. It is based on the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
“It is also clear that Iran (a financial backer of Hezbollah) would not want Hezbollah to be drawn into a long attrition war that will further exhaust it,” adds Nicolas.
Adnan El-Bursh
BBC Arabic
Some in Gaza have referred to the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon as a decision by Hezbollah to abandon the “the unity of fronts” strategy.
This is the concept endorsed by Hezbollah and Hamas to coordinate operations between members of the so-called “axis of resistance”, which includes other groups in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and other smaller groups in Iraq.
The key difference between the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon and the lack of one in Gaza is that Hezbollah left the negotiations in the hands of the Lebanese government, while Hamas is leading the negotiations in Gaza and refuses to be represented by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
Divisions amongst the Palestinians and the lack of a unified and officially recognised state that manages the talks has played a role in the lack of a ceasefire agreement for Gaza.
Some experts also say there is a void in Hamas' leadership, after Israel assassinated major figures in the organisation. And difficulties in communication between Hamas leaders inside and outside Gaza, makes negotiations even more challenging.
A still image from a video of al-Arida this morning
BBC Verify has been analysing social media footage of what appears to be Israeli strikes on border crossings in northern Lebanon in the hours before the ceasefire came into effect earlier today.
Footage from the al-Arida crossing, verified by the BBC, shows damage to the road bridge over the al-Kabir river, which forms a natural border between Lebanon and Syria near the Mediterranean coast. Nearby buildings and vehicles have also been heavily damaged.
Lebanon's Transport Minister Ali Hamieh told the Reuters news agency that it was the first time crossings in the north had been targeted in this conflict. Syrian state media said two crossings were hit al-Arida and al-Dabousiya, resulting in the deaths of six people. BBC Verify cannot confirm that death toll.
Israel has hit several border crossings during its incursion into Lebanon, with the stated intention of disrupting the flow of weapons to Hezbollah from its allies in Syria.
We've been reporting that displaced residents of southern Lebanon have been returning to their homes today after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect at 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
Traffic jams line the main highway from Beirut to the south, as many find their homes destroyed on their return.
If you're just joining us, here's everything else you need to know:
You can read more about the ceasefire deal and the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in our detailed explainers.
Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent
As we crossed a Lebanese army checkpoint outside Sidon - not a new development, this one has long been here - soldiers were handing out leaflets warning people to not touch unexploded ordnance.
"Don’t get close, don’t touch it, report it immediately.
"Unexploded ordnance remains under the rubble and is very dangerous," it says.
I have seen the same message on dozens of billboards by roads in the south and the east of the country, areas that were heavily hit by Israeli air strikes in the war
Lina Sinjab
Reporting from Beirut
Watch: 'In one night, everything was gone'
In the heart of heavily bombarded southern suburb of Beirut, 25 year-old Rayane Salman stands looking at a pile of rubble that she once called home.
"My family spent their lifetime building this. We lived here for 25 years and now it is all gone".
As we stand here in Dahieh, families begin to arrive wanting to inspect what is left of their homes. Now they are asking who is going to pick up the pieces and pay for the loss. At least eight buildings have been destroyed in this spot, all multi-storey buildings with tens of families like Rayane’s who have lost everything.
Thousands of families lost their homes across Lebanon and here in south of Beirut the level of destruction is immense. It will need international money to come in to rebuild these pounded buildings, towns, and villages. But that’s a question that no one has an answer for yet.
As we've been reporting, many of those in Lebanon who have been displaced during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict are now choosing to go back to their homes in southern Lebanon following news of a ceasefire, despite an Israeli warning not to.
We can now bring you some images coming through from the ground, as many people are returning to find their homes destroyed.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, ReutersTraffic jams continue as thousands queue up on the main highway that links Beirut to southern Lebanon, the BBC's Hugo Bachega reports.
People carry Hezbollah flags and posters showing the group's former leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Watch: Hugo Bachega reports as people return to southern Lebanon
Image source, ReutersLebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has demanded that Israel "fully commits" to the ceasefire and withdraws its forces from southern Lebanon.
He says his cabinet has, in their first meeting since the ceasefire came into force, decided to strengthen the armed forces in southern Lebanon, AFP reports.
"I hope this will be a new page for Lebanon," Mikati says of the agreement, according to the news agency.
Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, Israeli and Hezbollah forces will withdraw from the area between the Blue Line – the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel – and the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) to the north, over a period of 60 days, US President Joe Biden said yesterday.
The Lebanese armed forces will then occupy what will in effect be a buffer zone in line with the 2006 UN Security Council resolution 1701 agreement.
Image source, Getty ImagesLebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and US special envoy Amos Hochstein (L) during ceasefire negotiations
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called on those displaced by the war to return to their homes, and urged the swift election of a new president.
"I invite you to return to your homes... return to your land," said Berri, despite warnings to the contrary from Lebanon and Israel's militaries.
He also called for the country to "quickly elect a president" as political bickering has left Lebanon without a head of state for over two years.
Berri, who negotiated the ceasefire deal with the endorsement of Hezbollah, said the war with Israel had been the "most dangerous phase" his country had endured in its history.