On Wednesday morning, a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to be in place, raising hopes that some of the more than 1 million Lebanese civilians displaced by the conflict could return home .

The deal, which came into effect at 4 a.m. local time, was described by US President Joe Biden as “intended as a permanent cessation of hostilities”.

Thousands of evacuated residents tried to return to their homes in Beirut’s bombed southern suburbs on Wednesday as the Lebanese government gave its official support to the ceasefire.

“Today we begin the process of rebuilding what has been destroyed,” Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said. “Despite the great pain and this great catastrophe that beset the nation . . . it is a new day.”

But in a sign of the deal’s fragility, the Israeli forces issued an “urgent message” to residents of southern Lebanon, warning them not to return to their villages or approach the Israeli forces.

“For your safety and the safety of your family, please avoid entering the area. We will inform you when it is safe to return to your homes,” said Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee.

The Lebanese army also called on civilians to wait before returning to the “occupied territories” in the south of the country and to exercise caution due to unexploded ordnance in other areas.

More than a million Lebanese have been displaced by the fighting, which erupted when Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, began firing into northern Israel in the days after Hamas’s attack from Gaza on October 7, 2023.

About 60,000 Israelis have also been evacuated from the north of their country due to rocket, rocket and drone fire from Hezbollah.

More than 3,700 Lebanese and more than 140 Israelis were killed during the conflict.

The offensive delivered a series of devastating blows to Hezbollah, killing longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, damaging large amounts of weapons and infrastructure, and destroying large parts of the country’s east and south.

In a pre-recorded video message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday evening that the aim of the war was to return the residents of northern Israel to their homes. But he did not call for that to be done immediately.

Northern Israeli mayors and regional council heads criticized Netanyahu on Tuesday for striking a deal with Hezbollah.

Under the terms of the agreement, announced by Biden and approved by the Israeli Cabinet, the IDF will gradually withdraw from Lebanon over a period of 60 days and be replaced by the Lebanese Army.

The Lebanese government is formally obliged to “prevent Hezbollah and all other armed groups on the territory of Lebanon from carrying out any operation against Israel,” while Israel is obliged “not to carry out any offensive military operation against Lebanese targets.”

Hezbollah will be excluded from rebuilding its infrastructure in the southern parts of Lebanon. The group’s fighters are expected to move mainly north of the Litani River, which runs up to 30 km from the Israel-Lebanon border.

The deal is based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 but was never properly implemented.

According to people involved in the negotiations, Hezbollah has accepted the ceasefire.

Iran also issued a statement on Wednesday welcoming the ceasefire, despite previously insisting that Israel must end the war against Hamas in Gaza before hostilities could cease.

Hezbollah is the most powerful force in the Tehran-led “Axis of Resistance,” an umbrella of militant groups that began launching attacks on Israel in solidarity with Hamas.

Biden said the US and France would work with Israel and Lebanon to fully implement this week’s deal, adding that no US troops would be deployed in southern Lebanon.

He added that his government will continue efforts to revive talks between Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Israel on a ceasefire in Gaza.

Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump’s national security adviser, also praised what he called “concrete steps toward de-escalation in the Middle East.”

In parts of Dahiyeh, an area of ​​Beirut where Hezbollah has a controlling presence, traffic came to a standstill as people tried to return to their homes. Many waved the flags of both Hezbollah and Lebanon as they sang and shot guns into the air in celebration.

“As soon as the bombs stopped this morning, I came here,” said Hajj Amin, a 56-year-old notary. “I just wanted to see with my own eyes what the enemy did to my neighborhood.”

Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament, called on his compatriots to “return to your country, because it will be glorified by your return to it, even if you live in the rubble of houses.”

Netanyahu said that “the duration of the ceasefire depends on what will happen in Lebanon.”

He also stressed that he had reached “full agreement” with the US that Israel will maintain “full military freedom of action” in the event that Hezbollah violates the terms of the deal.

“If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack,” Netanyahu said. “If it tries to rebuild the terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a missile, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truckload of missiles, we will attack.”