The Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament, Nabih Berri, who leads the influential Shia Amal movement, today called for the swift “return” of those displaced or who fled the country due to the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
In a televised speech, delivered just hours after the ceasefire took effect, the Hezbollah ally called on Lebanese people to embrace national “unity” and advocated for the “accelerated election of a President of the Republic,” a position that has been vacant for more than two and a half years due to political disagreements.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, stated today that the military would “reinforce its deployment” in the southern region bordering Israel, as part of implementing the agreement that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
In his address to the Lebanese people, Mikati urged Israel to “respect” the ceasefire and “withdraw from all areas and positions it occupied” along the two countries’ border. He expressed hope that the agreement would open “a new chapter” in Lebanon’s history and also called for the swift election of a president.
Return of the displaced
Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel began their journey home today as the ceasefire came into effect after two months of open war between the Israeli army and the Iranian-linked Lebanese armed group.
The ceasefire, which took effect at 4:00 a.m. local time (and Cyprus time), brings an end to a conflict that caused thousands of deaths and displaced 900,000 people in Lebanon, as well as tens of thousands in Israel.
Without waiting for clearance from the Lebanese army, thousands of residents from southern Lebanon, southern Beirut, and the Bekaa region in the east—Hezbollah strongholds—also started returning to their homes, as observed by journalists from AFP.
In the southern section of Beirut, which was still being bombed at dawn today, Hezbollah supporters rode motorbikes waving the party’s yellow flag, some chanting slogans in honour of their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel in late September, as celebratory gunfire rang out.
“We are returning to this heroic suburb,” which “triumphed; we are proud,” said Nizam Hamade, an engineer inspecting his home, speaking to AFP.
The road to the south was packed with cars and overloaded trucks, with drivers honking horns and singing. “Our feelings cannot be described. Lebanon won, the state won, the people won,” said a father travelling with his family.
However, the Israeli army warned residents of southern Lebanon not to approach positions where its forces remain deployed. It stated that it fired on a vehicle that did so, forcing its occupants to turn back. The army also issued warnings about villages it has ordered to evacuate.
The pro-Iranian movement had opened a “support front” for Hamas against Israel when the Gaza war broke out on 7 October 2023, following an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist group on Israeli territory.
After months of cross-border exchanges, Israel launched a campaign of massive airstrikes against Hezbollah on 23 September and deployed troops in southern Lebanon, which borders northern Israel.
Casualties from the conflict
According to Lebanese authorities, at least 3,823 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 2023, the majority of them since late September. On the Israeli side, 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed over the past 13 months, according to official sources.
Also read: Cyprus welcomes Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement
Source: ANA-MPA/AFP
