Lebanese return home as ceasefire with Israel mostly holds

People uprooted by the war in Lebanon began returning home on Friday, checking whether their houses were still standing, though some did not plan to stay for fear a 10-day ceasefire in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel could prove fragile.



Hills of rubble marked the spot where buildings once stood in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, an area pummelled by Israel during more than six weeks of conflict that spiralled out of the war between the United States and Iran.



In Qasmiyeh in south Lebanon, cars were driving across a makeshift crossing over the Litani River, hastily erected after the ceasefire came into effect at midnight local time (2100 GMT). Israel destroyed all the bridges over the Litani during the war, blowing up the one at Qasmiyeh on Thursday.



"I inspected my home and praise God the building is still standing," said Ali Hamza, who had just visited his house in the southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh.

But he said "people are scared to come and live, and it is impossible to live in these circumstances, and with these smells. A full return is difficult now, despite the hardship of displacement".