Tens of thousands return to south Lebanon after ceasefire, defying Israeli warnings

Tens of thousands of displaced people began returning home in the early hours of Friday, against Israeli warnings, after a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect at midnight.

Israel had warned residents not to go back to areas south of the Litani River, saying its forces “remain positioned in southern Lebanon to monitor Hezbollah activity”.

The Lebanese army, Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement, had also urged residents of southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs, known locally as Dahyeh, and the Bekaa Valley to delay their return for their own safety.

However, many people uprooted by Israel’s six-week bombing campaign and ground invasion began planning their journey home as soon as US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire on Thursday afternoon.

The Israeli military continued shelling areas in the south after the truce came into force, although by Friday morning it appeared to be largely holding. In a statement, Hezbollah said it was keeping its “finger on the trigger” in case of any Israeli violations.

Moments before the ceasefire, Israel struck a residential complex in the southern city of Sour, killing 11 and wounding 35, according to the Lebanese Civil Defence. Search and rescue operations for people missing under the rubble are still ongoing.

Early in the morning, the highway linking the cities of Saida and Sour was already gridlocked, as tens of thousands of vehicles – packed with people and belongings, many piled high with mattresses – headed south.

In Qasmiyeh, cars crossed the Litani River, which cuts through most of the width of Lebanon, via a makeshift passage hastily set up after the ceasefire took effect in anticipation of a large number of people returning, to compensate for the destruction of the Qasmiyeh bridge by Israel a day earlier.

The Lebanese army also partially reopened several damaged bridges.

During the war, Israel destroyed all bridges over the river, including the key Qasmiyeh bridge, which was blown up on Thursday, severing the last link between the south and the rest of the country.

The Lebanese army supervised bulldozers as they worked from dawn to fill the crater left by the bombing. Once it was passable, motorcycles and cars began crossing in single file.

Further east, authorities reopened a secondary road at Zrarieh–Tayr Filsey to ease the traffic, while the main route over the “February 6 bridge”, struck by Israel in March, remained closed, according to Lebanese media.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,200 people in Lebanon since 2 March and forced some 1.2 million from their homes, according to Lebanese government figures.