Many residents of south Lebanon are returning to their homes, despite an Israeli warning to stay away from the region for now.

Ali Hijazi, one of 1.5 million displaced residents, says people want to go home and restore their lives.

"Today is mixed feelings of sadness and joy. The war has ended for the past two hours but the humanitarian crisis is just unfolding as we see hundreds of cars fleeing back to south Lebanon," he tells the BBC's World Service Radio.

He adds that resources were insufficient, and shelters were unable to accommodate people who were forced out of their homes by the war.

Across the border in northern Israel, Ortal Beeril, a resident of Kibbutz Maayan Baruch, says any agreement is better than war. That said, she said she remains ambivalent about the situation.

Beeril and her family have also returned to their home. She says she made the decision because there is "nowhere to be safe".

"The last year was really rough for all of us. We’ll need to see things happening on the ground, and that the government and army are enforcing the agreement and not letting Hezbollah gain its forces," Beeril says.

People who have been displaced in southern Lebanon by the conflict are now trying to head home, which is causing dense traffic on roads.

The Israeli army has warned residents not to return until it is safe to do so.

For Lebanon, the crisis isn't overpublished at 06:18 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2024

06:18 GMT 27 November 2024

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Lebanon

This war has been devastating for Lebanon.

More than 3,500 people have been killed, one million displaced and large parts of the country now lie in ruins.

Outside Hezbollah’s support base, many criticise the group for dragging Lebanon into a conflict that wasn’t in its interests.

Hezbollah will inevitably try to sell the deal as a victory, saying its resistance forced Israel to negotiate.

But it knows it’s been severely weakened. It hasn’t been destroyed by this war, but it may never be able to fully recover.

This is also a significant blow to the group’s main backer, Iran.

Hezbollah’s opponents, however, may see this as an opportunity to limit the influence of a group often described as a state within a state. The deal may bring this conflict to an end. But for Lebanon, the crisis isn’t over.

Image source, Reuters

It's just gone 08:00 in Lebanon (06:00 GMT), which means the ceasefire has been ongoing for four hours now. If you're just joining us, here is the latest:

• The ceasefire announced by the US and France on Tuesday evening went into effect at 04:00 local time. If it holds, Israeli troops will withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah will move north of the Litani River, about 30km (18 miles) north of the border with Israel
• US President Joe Biden says the ceasefire is designed to be permanent but Israel says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the agreement
• Cars carrying people displaced from southern Lebanon by Israeli strikes in recent months were seen heading south after the ceasefire began, despite IDF warnings to Lebanese civilians not to return
• The Lebanese army says it is preparing to deploy to southern Lebanon, in accordance with the ceasefire deal
• Iran, Hezbollah's backer, has welcomed what it calls the end of Israel's "aggression" in Lebanon
• Both sides traded fire until shortly before the deadline, with Hezbollah saying it launched drones towards Israel on Tuesday night, while Israel launched air strikes on Beirut after its military issued evacuation orders in the area

The Lebanese army says in a statement that it is preparing to deploy to southern Lebanon, in accordance with the ceasefire deal.

It also asks residents not to return home until Israeli forces withdraw, Reuters news agency reports.

As a reminder, the Lebanese army is expected to deploy 5,000 troops to the south under the agreement, according to a US official - more on that here.

Four civilians and two soldiers were killed by Israeli strikes on three border crossings between Lebanon and Syria hours before the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire came into effect, Syrian state media reports.

Twelve people were wounded, including children, women, and humanitarian workers from the Syrian Red Crescent.

The Syrian Red Crescent said earlier that one of its volunteers had been killed in the strike, which had also damaged several ambulances.

As dawn breaks in Lebanon, people displaced by months of Israeli attacks have been pictured returning home, despite an Israeli military warning to wait until they are told it is safe to do so.

Here are the latest images from Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire began:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden's announcement of a ceasefire deal is set to end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Here are some of the details of the deal we've learned from officials and media reports:

• It is meant to be a permanent deal: The deal outlines that Hezbollah and Israel will have 60 days to remove its fighters and weapons from the region and the Blue Line - the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel - and the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) to the north
• Lebanese troops to replace Hezbollah: The Lebanese army is expected to deploy 5,000 troops to the south under the agreement, according to a US official. But there are questions about whether the country's military can or would confront Hezbollah forces in the area if needed
• How the ceasefire will be monitored: The US and France are joining the existing tripartite mechanism that was charged with monitoring violations of previous conflicts, which involves Unifil, Lebanon and Israel. Both Israel and Hezbollah have claimed the other violated previous ceasefire agreements
• Israel claims right to respond to violations: Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel would “maintain full freedom of military action” in Lebanon “with the United States' full understanding”. Netanyahu cited moves like the group attempting to arm itself, rebuilding infrastructure or using rockets as reasons to attack

Read more on what we know about the deal here.

Iran's foreign ministry has welcomed what it calls the end of Israel's "aggression" in Lebanon, according to Iranian state media.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei reiterated Iran's "firm support for the Lebanese government, nation and resistance", in a statement issued after the ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the "Iranian threat" as one of the main reasons for implementing the ceasefire deal, although he did not elaborate further.

Image source, Reuters

Cars carrying people displaced from southern Lebanon by Israeli strikes in recent months were seen heading south after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began, Reuters news agency reports.

It happened despite a warning from the Israeli military to residents in south Lebanon that it's not safe to return home yet.

Dozens of vehicles were seen leaving the port city of Sidon, located south of Beirut, while photos taken in Zahrani show some cars stacked with mattresses and other belongings.

Image source, Reuters

Carine Torbey
BBC Arabic correspondent, in Beirut

Image source, Reuters

An hour after the ceasefire began, the distinctive buzzing of Israeli surveillance drones can still be heard in many areas in the country.

Israeli media first said that the ceasefire would start at 10:00 local time, before President Biden set the time at 04:00 in the morning (02:00 GMT).

This appeared to be one minor disagreement over the details of the implementation. Many more are expected to surface in the coming days.

For now, the persistence of the drones could be seen as another Israeli show of power about who has the last word.

That being said, there’s a concern in the country that even if the Israeli drones get out of sight, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will stop flying completely.

The Israeli military (IDF) has warned residents in south Lebanon not to approach IDF positions, minutes after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began.

In a post on X, the IDF's Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee tells the Lebanese residents that they are "prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area".

He says the IDF remains deployed in its positions inside southern Lebanon.

"For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area. We will inform you when it is safe to return home," he adds.

Celebrations in the street. Cautious optimism. Hopes that it could lead to a broader deal ending the war in Gaza.

Here is how some people across Israel and Lebanon reacted to the news of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah:

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent in Jerusalem

The deal is approved, the ceasefire has begun.

But will it hold?

The key test will be in its implementation. Over the next 60 days Israel is due to pull its army out of Lebanon and Hezbollah must withdraw to north of the Litani River.

At the same time, supposedly filling the vacuum, will be Lebanon’s national army and the UN peacekeepers known as Unifil, all monitored by a committee of five nations, overseen by the deal’s sponsor, the United States.

But the Lebanese Army has always been much weaker than Hezbollah and Unifil has failed to prevent Hezbollah from firing rockets into Israel.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel reserved the right to intervene again in Lebanon, militarily, if it thought the deal was being broken.

But many Israelis living in the north of Lebanon close to the border have their doubts.

And now the focus will return to Gaza, where some Palestinians hope this will hasten a ceasefire there too. Others fear it will now free up the Israeli army to redouble its assault on Hamas, with yet more civilian casualties to follow.

It's just gone 04:00 in Lebanon (02:00 GMT), which means the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire announced on Tuesday evening should now be in effect.

If the deal holds, it will end more than a year of war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.

The fighting escalated significantly in September, when Israel intensified bombardments and launched a limited ground invasion.

As a reminder, under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli forces will withdraw from Lebanon within 60 days, while Hezbollah forces will be replaced by Lebanese army forces in the south of the country over the same period.

As we reported a few hours ago, Israel ordered the evacuation of two areas of Beirut.

Air strikes have now been reported in Beirut just a few minutes before the ceasefire is due to begin at 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT).

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent in Jerusalem

Image source, re

The Israeli prime minister has given three reasons why he favours a ceasefire with Hezbollah at this juncture, contrary to the views of its detractors.

1. Focussing on the threat from Iran. While saying he is not going to expand on that, he did state elsewhere that Israel had destroyed major parts of Iran’s air defence system and a significant component of its nuclear programme. Hezbollah was always seen as Iran’s first line of defence. With much of Hezbollah’s missile arsenal now destroyed the military balance between Israel and Iran has tilted in Israel’s favour.

2. Exhaustion. Although he doesn’t use that word he did say that the Israeli military needed a break and to rearm. Israeli commentators say that the country’s military was neither ready nor equipped to fight two wars on two fronts over an extended period of time. Ending the conflict in Lebanon potentially frees up more Israeli forces to serve in Gaza, a conflict which shows no sign of ending.

3. Isolating Hamas. Taking Hezbollah out of the war does increase the pressure on Hamas, which had always hoped it would not be the only member of Iran’s "Axis of Resistance" attacking Israel. Whether that will, as Netanyah says, "help us in our sacred mission of releasing our hostages" is debatable. Families and relatives of the remaining Israeli hostages still held in Gaza have been deeply critical of Netanyahu, accusing him of prolonging the conflict in Gaza at the expense of a deal that released those hostages.

Image source, Reuters

An official from US President-elect Donald Trump's campaign has said the peace deal reached under the outging administration of Joe Biden was spurred by Trump's election victory this month.

"President Trump rightfully predicted that actors in the region would make moves toward peace because of his historic victory - and that's exactly what we are seeing take place," the official says.

Trump, the official adds, "has been crystal clear that his support for Israel" is steadfast, as is his "commitment to peace in the Middle East".

He adds that "Iran-backed proxies clearly see the clock ticking" as Trump will return to power in January "with a strong national security team".

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

Questions remain about the ceasefire.

Under the deal, thousands of Lebanese soldiers will be deployed to the south, after the withdrawal of Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters. How they will be deployed remains unclear.

The military has complained that they do not have the resources – money, manpower and equipment – to fulfil their obligations.

But it is not only about funding, which will probably come from some of Lebanon’s international allies. Will the Lebanese military confront Hezbollah if needed?

That would set Lebanese against Lebanese, which is always a risk in a country where sectarian divisions run deep.

Lebanese authorities seem to have accepted that things must change, a diplomat told me. It appears there is the political will to do so.

Read Hugo's full piece

The Syrian Red Crescent , externalsays one of its volunteers has been killed and others have been injured in an apparent military strike near the Lebanon border early Wednesday morning local time.

The humanitarian organisation says the volunteers were "rescuing the wounded" when the "aggression" happened. Several ambulances were also damaged in the blast, which occurred near the Al-Dabousyeh and Al-Arida crossings between Syria and Lebanon, the Syrian Red Crescent says.

The organisation called on "all sides to respect international humanitarian law" and "protect" workers.