Can the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah hold after the multiple violations noted just one week after its entry into force? Despite the unstable situation, the displaced have returned in large numbers in recent days.
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“ I’m not sure I’ll spend the winter here », entrusts a resident of a village in the south to our special correspondents at Lebanon, Nicolas Falez And Jad El Khoury. This 80-year-old former school principal, wearing a cap and rubber gloves, clears the small street that winds alongside his house. On the sidewalk opposite, there is nothing left, or rather a shapeless magma of concrete and debris, where several houses in the village of Chehabiyeh once stood. The old man returned a few days ago and he admits it: he does not feel calm when he listens to the information concerning this ceasefire which has largely been trampled.
A little closer to the Israeli border, in Khirbet Selm, a stronghold of Hezbollahhere again ruins tell of the intensity of the bombings of recent weeks. The village mayor explains that almost all the residents have returned. When asked about the ceasefire, he says he does not trust the Israelis. When asked about the agreement which provides for the dismantling of Hezbollah weapons in this region, he replied that it is precisely Hezbollah here which protects the inhabitants.
As for the deployment of the Lebanese army, also planned by the ceasefire, he actually heard about it in the media. “ But no one has contacted me officially about this yet », replies the municipal official.
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Fragile ceasefire
Nearly 580,000 displaced people returned to their towns and villages following the application of the ceasefire on November 27 between Israel and Hezbollah, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported by the French-speaking Lebanese daily The Orient-The Day. According to Lebanese authorities, almost 90% of those displaced in collective reception centers left the premises by November 30, although more than 22,000 people remain in around 400 sites.
This Tuesday, December 3, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, threatened that Israel will penetrate “ more in depth » in Lebanon if the fragile ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah had to be broken.
“ If we go to war again, we will act with even greater force and penetrate deeper “, And ” there will no longer be immunity for the Lebanese State “. Israel will no longer distinction [entre le Liban et] Hezbollah », Said the Minister of Defense during a visit to troops on Tuesday.
Also readLebanon accuses Israel, which blames Hezbollah, of violating the truce