A 10-day ceasefire deal struck between Lebanon and Israel took effect on Friday, sending displaced residents streaming south towards their homes, even as the Lebanese army warned of "a number of violations" in the area. Shortly after the truce went into effect at midnight local time, the Lebanese army warned residents of the south not to return, citing several Israeli acts of aggression. Many residents had been forced to flee their homes following sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings during the conflict.
AFP images showed packed cars heading southwards along Lebanon's coastal highway before dawn, crossing at sunrise what was left of a bridge bombed by Israel during the war. Displaced resident Alaa Damash acknowledged the warnings to wait, but said people's love for their lands and houses pushed them to return despite fire threats.
Traffic accumulated kilometres away from the only bridge connecting the coastal region south of Lebanon's Litani River to the rest of the country, as people lined up for hours waiting for a chance to return home.
The ceasefire represents a key step in Washington's efforts to reach a deal to end its war with Iran, with Tehran insisting a Lebanon truce must be part of any agreement. Mediator Islamabad has been leading the international push to restart face-to-face talks between Tehran and Washington.
Trump signaled he might fly to Pakistan to sign any agreement, adding they were very close to striking one. The fighting in Lebanon broke out on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel just a few days after the start of the Middle East war in retribution for the death of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in the opening waves of US-Israeli strikes.
Trump said he had spoken to both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun ahead of the truce, adding the pair had agreed to the ceasefire in order to achieve peace between their countries. He later said he expected Netanyahu and Aoun to visit the White House over the next four or five days.
Netanyahu said the ceasefire with Lebanon offered an opportunity for a historic peace agreement with Beirut but insisted that the disarmament of militant group Hezbollah remained a precondition. According to the US State Department, the truce committed Lebanon itself to dismantle the Iran-backed militant group.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed Trump's announcement of the ceasefire, saying a truce was a key Lebanese demand pursued since the very first day of the war. However, the Lebanese president had rejected Trump's request for a direct call with Netanyahu, an official source told AFP.
As the ceasefire came into effect, Israel's military said it had struck over 380 Hezbollah terror organization targets in southern Lebanon and was on high alert to resume strikes. Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the truce but would maintain a 10-kilometre security zone along the border in southern Lebanon.
A Hezbollah lawmaker told AFP it would cautiously adhere to the truce if Israel stopped attacks. Ibrahim al-Moussawi thanked Iran for having applied pressure in Lebanon's favour, adding that the ceasefire would not have happened without Iran considering it as equal to closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Lethal violence continued right up until shortly before the truce began, with Lebanon's health ministry saying at least seven people were killed and more than 30 wounded in an Israeli strike on the town of Ghazieh on Thursday. An Israeli hospital spokesman also said three people had been injured on Thursday.
Gunfire rang out overnight in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah holds sway, as the ceasefire came into effect, an apparent bout of spontaneous celebration, although that could not be confirmed.
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