In a message early Wednesday morning, the government army confirms that it is getting ready to deploy forces in southern Lebanon. It happens after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hezbollah militia came into force at 4 o’clock in the morning.
The ceasefire brought great relief to the small Mediterranean nation and comes after days of some of the most intense airstrikes since the war began.
At the same time, the army asks the internally displaced refugees to wait to return home to the border villages until Israeli soldiers have withdrawn from the area.
Many heading south
According to the cease-fire, Israeli forces must be withdrawn completely from southern Lebanon within 60 days.
Thousands of people forced to flee Israeli attacks set off on their journey south on Wednesday morning. They also defied a warning from the Israeli military, which has told people to stay away from areas evacuated in the war. In total, almost 1 million people have been displaced inside Lebanon as a result of the hostilities.
At least 42 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Tuesday, hours before the ceasefire took effect, according to local authorities.
Broken UN resolution
The ceasefire agreement that has now been agreed on stipulates that only the Lebanese government army and the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL will henceforth patrol the border area with Israel.
According to the ceasefire, the Hezbollah militia is to withdraw from the border with Israel and move its heavy weapons north of the Litani River.
The agreement is thus in line with a resolution that the UN Security Council adopted in 2006, which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah at the time. However, the UN resolution has not been complied with in the years since.