Tens of thousands head home as Israel's truce with Hezbollah holds

Tens of thousands of people displaced by Israel's war on Lebanon have headed back to their devastated towns and villages as a ceasefire took hold.

Under the terms of the deal that brought the war to a halt, the Lebanese military started reinforcing its presence in the country's south, where Hezbollah has long held sway.

The war escalated after nearly a year of cross-border fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, which was followed by relentless air strikes by Tel Aviv in which Israel killed nearly 4,000 people, wounded another 16,000 and uprooted over a million.

On the Israeli side, at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians died in fighting with Hezbollah, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel shifted its focus from besieged Gaza to Lebanon in September.

Hezbollah has emerged from the war still mourning the killing in an Israeli air raid of its longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah.

But the group proclaimed "victory" over Israel in a statement released on Wednesday.

"Victory from God almighty was the ally of the righteous cause," the Hezbollah statement said.

'Full cooperation'

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told the AFP news agency that his group was cooperating on the Lebanese army's deployment in south Lebanon.

There is "full cooperation" with the Lebanese state in strengthening the army's deployment, he said, adding that the group has "no visible weapons or bases" but "nobody can make residents leave their villages".

The road from the Lebanese capital to the south was jammed from before dawn with thousands of people heading home.

Cars and minibuses packed with people carrying mattresses, suitcases and blankets were seen, with some honking their horns and singing in celebration.

"What we feel is indescribable," said one Lebanese driver on the road to the south. "The people have won!"

Others, however, voiced quiet desolation.

Returning to his home in the southern town of Nabatieh, Ali Mazraani said he was shocked by the extent of the devastation from the raids.

"Is this really Nabatieh?" he asked. "All our memories of Nabatieh have disappeared, and we can't recognise our own town."

Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri called on the displaced to go back to their homes despite the devastation.

"I invite you to return to your homes... return to your land," said Berri, who led negotiations on behalf of his ally Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged Israel to respect the terms of the truce and said Lebanon was turning the page on "one of the most painful phases that the Lebanese have lived in their modern history".

'Hezbollah still has forces'

While the mood in Lebanon was of joy tempered by devastating loss, in Israel around 60,000 residents left their homes close to the border.

"On one hand, we are happy about the ceasefire because it feels safer" said 43-year-old Yuri, a resident of Kibbutz Yiron near the Lebanese border, who fled to the northern city of Haifa.

"On the other hand... Hezbollah still has forces, and we don't see when this will truly come to an end."

Meanwhile a far-right Israeli minister attacked his government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon "under duress," in addition to failing to defeat Hezbollah group there.

"The agreement doesn't have many of the terms we talked about — a buffer zone and disarming Hezbollah," Amihai Eliyahu said.

Eliyahu noted: "It is not victory. Victory means conquest, it means duress."