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The US agreement between Israel and Hizbollah appears to have been reached on Wednesday morning, raising hopes that some of the more than 1 million Lebanese civilians who have fled their homes due to the conflict will return home.
The agreement, which came into force at 4 am, was described by US President Joe Biden as “designed to end the conflict”.
Thousands of displaced people tried to return to their homes in a bombed-out south of Beirut on Wednesday, as the Lebanese government offered its support for a ceasefire.
“Today we are starting the process of rebuilding what was destroyed,” said Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najib Mikati. “Despite the great pain and this great tragedy that struck the nation . . . it is a new day.”
But showing the weakness of the agreement, the Israeli army issued an “urgent message” to the people living in southern Lebanon, warning them not to return to their villages or approach the Israeli army.
“For your safety and the safety of your families, avoid entering the area. We will let you know if it is safe for you to return to your homes,” said Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee.
The Lebanese army also asked civilians to wait before returning to “occupied areas” in the south of the country and to be careful because of unexploded ordnance in other areas.
More than 1mn Lebanese have fled their homes to fightwhich began when Hizbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group, began shelling northern Israel in the days following the October 7 2023 attack by Hamas from Gaza.
About 60,000 Israelis have also been removed from the north of their country because of Hezbollah rocket, missile and drone fire.
During the war, more than 3,700 Lebanese and more than 140 Israelis have been killed.
The attack caused several problems for Hizbollah, killing their former leader Hassan Nasrallah and destroying many of its weapons and infrastructure, as well as destroying large areas in the east and south of the country.
In a pre-recorded speech on Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the goal of the war was to return Israelis to their homes. But he stopped inviting them to do that immediately.
Northern Israeli mayors and regional council leaders criticized Netanyahu on Tuesday for cooperating with Hizbollah.
Under the agreement, announced by Biden and approved by the Israeli cabinet, the IDF will gradually withdraw from Lebanon for 60 days and be replaced by the Lebanese army.
Hizbollah will be prevented from rebuilding its weapons in southern Lebanon. The group’s fighters are expected to move mainly north of the Litani River, which runs up to 30km from the Israel-Lebanon border.
Hizbollah has agreed to a cease-fire agreement, according to people involved in the talks.
Iran also issued a statement on Wednesday welcoming the end of the war, although it had previously insisted that Israel must end its war against Hamas in Gaza before the end of the war.
Hizbollah is the most powerful group in the “axis of resistance” led by Tehran, the umbrella group of armed groups that launched an attack on Israel in cooperation with Hamas.
Biden said the US and France will work with Israel and Lebanon to ensure that this week’s agreement is fully implemented, adding that no US troops will be sent to southern Lebanon.
He also said that his administration will try to resume negotiations between Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Israel regarding the end of the war in Gaza.
Mike Waltz, the national security adviser to the president-elect Donald Trump, also praised what he called “reducing measures in the Middle East”.
In some parts of Dahiyeh, the area of Beirut where Hizbollah has control, traffic stopped, as people wanted to return home. Many waved Hizbollah and Lebanese flags as they chanted and fired gunshots in celebration.
“As soon as the bombing stopped this morning, I came here,” said Hajj Amin, a 56-year-old secretary. “I just wanted to see with my own eyes what the enemy did to my area.”
Netanyahu said “the duration of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon”.
He also insisted that he had reached a “full understanding” with the US that Israel would maintain “full military freedom” if Hizbollah violated the agreement.
“If Hizbollah breaks the agreement and tries to prepare itself, we will attack,” Netanyahu said. “If it tries to build up a terrorist group near the border, we will attack. If it launches rockets, if it digs trenches, if it brings a vehicle with missiles, we will attack.”
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