The news that a ceasefire agreement between Israeli troops and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah could be coming soon arrived one day and came to fruition the next. A ceasefire had already been attempted at the beginning of the confrontation and, therefore, during the first hours, analysts were skeptical about its viability. It is not yet certain that this truce will continue for the first 60 days that are currently agreed between the partiesbut this Thursday thousands of displaced Lebanese began to return to the homes they had to leave in the first weeks of the war, despite Israel warning that they could not do so until the country’s forces had permanently left the area.
The ceasefire is being celebrated everywhere. On social media you can see people hugging each other, in a pilgrimage to the south, with Lebanese flags unfurled from car windows and many photographs of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah printed and framed. A video recorded on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday shows people throwing rice and bouquets of flowers at the official Lebanese army, which must now take Israel’s positions. To date, around 3,700 Lebanese and 126 Israelis have died in this war, including soldiers and civilians, and more than 1.5 million people have had to leave their homes in southern Lebanon. Around 60,000 Israelis were also forced to leave their homes because they were within reach of Hezbollah attacks.
Source: expresso.pt
