Displaced Lebanese people have started returning to the south of the country amid hopes that the embryonic ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel will hold.
Civilians began moving south towards their homes shortly after the truce, announced overnight by United States President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, took effect in the early hours of Wednesday.
The Lebanese army was also quick to announce that it was preparing to deploy to the Israeli-invaded south and âcarry out its missionâ under United Nations Resolution 1701.
The pledge to respect the 2006 resolution, which requires Hezbollah to move away from the border with Israel, is at the centre of the ceasefire agreement.
The military called on people not to return to front-line villages until after the Israeli military withdraws. However, a tide of civilians has been heading for home.
âFragileâ
Reporting from the Mediterranean coastal city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeeraâs Zeina Khodr said that with signs that the ceasefire is holding, thousands of people were making their way home.
Some were waving the âvictoryâ sign, as for many, a return home is a victory in itself, she said. However, it remains unclear if all areas will be accessible, with the Israeli army saying that its forces are still operating in some parts and evacuation orders still in place.
A sense of relief reigns across Lebanon, Khodr reported, but the optimism remains âguarded ⌠because people are afraid that this is still a very fragile truceâ.
Under the ceasefire, the Lebanese army should over the next 60 days deploy south of the Litani River, the southern region of the country that borders Israel. Israeli troops will gradually withdraw and Hezbollah will also pull back from the area.
Israelâs government, which approved the deal late on Tuesday, has emphasised that it will launch more attacks if there are any signs that terms are not honoured.
In the hours leading up to the start of the truce at 4am (02:00 GMT), Israel unleashed a wave of strikes on Lebanon.
Overnight, its warplanes bombed all three of Lebanonâs border crossings with Syria. State news agency SANA confirmed on Wednesday that four civilians and two government soldiers were killed.
The US, Israelâs main ally, also bombed an unknown location in Syria, saying it targeted a weapons cache of an âIranian-alignedâ armed group.
Iran, Hezbollahâs backer, on Wednesday welcomed news of the ceasefire. The foreign ministry expressed Tehranâs âfirm support for the Lebanese government, nation and resistanceâ.
Focus on Gaza
The ceasefire in Lebanon turns attention back to the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by Israelâs military since the Iran-backed Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023.
Israeli forces maintain their assault on the besieged enclave. Several people were reported on Wednesday to have been killed in an attack on the al-Tabin School shelter for displaced people in Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground.
President Biden has said that he is prepared to make âanother pushâ for a ceasefire in Gaza, but there are few signs that a quick breakthrough could be possible.
Hamas has not yet officially commented on the Lebanon agreement but has previously maintained that it is prepared for a ceasefire if Israeli troops withdraw from the enclave, people are allowed to return to their homes and more humanitarian aid is admitted.
But Israel has rejected those terms, insisting that the 100 or so captives still held by Hamas must be returned.