A fragile ceasefire in Lebanon largely held Monday, though displaced residents remained wary of returning home after earlier attempts to halt the fighting quickly collapsed.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Lebanon experienced its longest pause in fighting in three months Monday as a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah largely held, offering a temporary break from the war while concerns persisted that the truce could still unravel.
A senior Lebanese security official said compliance with the ceasefire had been “almost total” since Saturday evening. The official said there were still isolated incidents, including an Israeli tank firing shells toward a village near Tyre and Israeli forces using sound grenades in two other locations Monday. An Israeli drone was also heard over Beirut.
The lull followed repeated failures to sustain previous ceasefire efforts. A truce announced Friday collapsed quickly, and Lebanon’s civil defense said 20 people in Lebanon were killed by Israeli attacks Saturday.
The uncertainty has kept many displaced people from returning home, especially in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces remain deployed and large areas have been damaged during the conflict.
Hassan Wazni, director of a hospital in Nabatieh, said the city had been calm since Saturday evening after enduring bombardment during the war.
“I’m monitoring the situation day by day, and most of the time I’m sleeping in the hospital. This is the longest a ceasefire has held,” he told Reuters by phone.
Wazni said residents were still reluctant to go back to their homes because earlier ceasefire efforts had failed so quickly.
“People are still uneasy,” Wazni said.
The Lebanon ceasefire has also become part of a broader regional diplomatic test involving the United States and Iran. The war between Israel and Hezbollah has strained an interim U.S.-Iran arrangement aimed at ending the regional conflict.
Over the weekend, Tehran said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz, accusing Washington of failing to meet a commitment to halt the fighting in Lebanon. The strait is one of the world’s most important waterways for oil and gas transit.
Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation in the first round of talks with Iran toward a final peace deal, said Monday that progress had been made on ending the fighting in Lebanon and that the Strait of Hormuz was open.
Vance said Lebanon remained a work in progress.
Israeli forces are still positioned deep inside southern Lebanon, where Israel has established what it calls a security zone. Israeli forces have been razing villages in the area, saying Hezbollah has embedded itself in civilian communities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israeli troops would maintain full freedom of action against any direct or emerging Hezbollah threat to Israeli forces or civilians. He said Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon for “as long as is necessary.”
The ceasefire’s survival now depends on whether both sides can avoid further escalation after months of war, repeated failed truces and deep uncertainty among civilians waiting to learn whether it is safe to return home.
Original article
Comments