Tens of thousands in Lebanon head home as Israel-Hezbollah truce takes hold
AFP | Beirut
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com
Tens of thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war between Israel and Hezbollah headed back to their devastated towns and villages as a ceasefire took hold on Wednesday.
Under the terms of the deal that brought the war to a halt, the Lebanese military started reinforcing its presence in the country’s south, where Hezbollah has long held sway.
The war escalated after nearly a year of cross-border fire initiated by the militant group in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, whose attack on Israel in October last year sparked the war in Gaza.
It killed thousands of people in Lebanon and triggered mass displacement on both sides of the border.
Israel shifted its focus from Gaza to Lebanon in September to secure its northern border from Hezbollah attacks and dealt the movement a series of heavy blows.
The Iran-backed group has emerged from the war significantly weakened and still mourning the killing in an Israeli air raid of its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP on Wednesday that his group was cooperating on the Lebanese army’s deployment in south Lebanon.
There is “full cooperation” with the Lebanese state in strengthening the army’s deployment, he said, adding that the group has “no visible weapons or bases” there and that “nobody can make residents leave their villages”.
The road from the Lebanese capital to the south has been congested since the early hours, with thousands of people heading home.
AFP journalists saw cars and minibuses packed with people carrying mattresses, suitcases and blankets, with some honking their horns and singing in celebration, with Hezbollah supporters declaring the truce a victory.
“What we feel is indescribable,” said one Lebanese driver on the road to the south. “The people have won!” Others, however, voiced quiet desolation.
Returning to his home in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, Ali Mazraani said he was shocked by the extent of the devastation from the raids.
“Is this really Nabatiyeh?” he said. “All our memories of Nabatiyeh have disappeared, and we can’t recognise our own town.”
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