A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah has taken effect hours after United States President Joe Biden said a proposal to end the “devastating” conflict had been reached, promising to halt nearly 14 months of cross-border fighting that has killed thousands of people.
The ceasefire began at 4am (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday amid concerns about whether it would hold and lead to the permanent end of fighting between Israel’s military and Hezbollah forces.
Tens of thousands of forcibly displaced civilians started returning home to the south of the country, defying warnings from the Israeli military not to go back until it withdrew.
As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel will “gradually withdraw” its forces from southern Lebanon over the next 60 days, and the Lebanese army will deploy to the territory.
Read more here.
