The United Nations has reported a significant drop in exchanges of fire across southern Lebanon following the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, raising cautious hopes that more than three months of devastating conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah may be drawing to a close.
Hours after the truce was announced, thousands of displaced Lebanese families began making their way back to villages in the country's south, despite official warnings that conditions were not yet safe. Videos circulating online showed residents arriving in damaged communities only to find Israeli armoured vehicles still positioned in their streets. One returning resident, Abo Ali, displaced from Jebchit in the Nabatieh region, said his family had come back "with caution," adding: "All of this can be compensated for, and rebuilt." Another man, Moustafa, returning to the village of Aadshit near Marjayoun, surveyed the destruction and said simply: "For someone who's used to this area and has lived here, to come back and see this is extremely hard."
The precise scope of the US-Iran agreement remains unclear, as its full text has not been made public. Both Iran and Pakistan, which served as a mediator in the negotiations, have said the deal includes Lebanon — a key Iranian demand that had been a central sticking point. Israel had maintained that its campaign against Hezbollah was a separate conflict from the one with Iran and should continue independently, but appears to be facing mounting US pressure to stand down. The current round of fighting began in March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran. Israel responded with an intensive bombing campaign across Lebanon and a ground invasion of the south.
The human cost has been severe. Lebanon's health ministry reports more than 3,800 people killed, with one million still displaced across the country, the majority from the Shia Muslim community that forms Hezbollah's political and social base. An estimated 50,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. Israel says it has killed more than 2,500 Hezbollah operatives; 30 Israeli soldiers and four civilians have been killed on the Israeli side.
Even if a full ceasefire holds, critical questions remain unresolved. Roughly five percent of Lebanese territory is currently under Israeli occupation, and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has stated that Israeli forces will remain indefinitely, with the stated aim of establishing a Hezbollah-free security zone along the border. Hezbollah, which is also a political party and social movement providing schools and hospitals across Lebanon's Shia communities, has refused to discuss disarming. Lebanese authorities argue disarmament can only be achieved through diplomacy, though a negotiated solution appears distant. Two previous ceasefire announcements during this conflict collapsed, and a 2024 agreement that ended an earlier round of Israel-Hezbollah fighting failed to prevent near-daily Israeli strikes. Many Lebanese remain deeply sceptical that this fragile quiet will last.