Displaced family members pack their belongings as they prepare to return home following a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians took to the road on April 17, hoping that a 10-day ceasefire with Israel would allow them to return to their homes in southern Beirut and the country's war-torn south.
Minutes before the ceasefire came into effect at midnight, a series of Israeli strikes in the southern city of Tyre killed at least 13 people and destroyed six residential buildings, a city official said.
Under the terms of the truce, Israel reserves the right to continue targeting Hezbollah to prevent "planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks" and it says it will maintain a 10-kilometer (six-mile) security zone along the border in southern Lebanon.
According to details of the truce deal released by the U.S. State Department, Lebanon "with international support... will take meaningful steps to prevent Hezbollah" from undertaking any attacks or hostile actions against Israeli targets.
The Iran-backed movement, meanwhile, said its finger remains "on the trigger" in the event of any violations.
Despite warnings against returning to the south, long queues of displaced families began traversing the bomb-damaged Qasmiyeh bridge near the southern city of Tyre on April 17 after bulldozers restored the crossing so they could head home, according to AFP journalists.
For some returnees, the short truce between Israel and the Lebanese government, brokered under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, was a new source of hope.
"Our feelings are indescribable, pride and victory," 37-year-old Amani Atrash told AFP from her car seat, adding she hoped the truce would be extended.
Across the border in Israel, the military's home front command had not yet removed restrictions on civilian movements in vulnerable border areas.
Still, some civilians there were daring to hope for a return to a more normal life.
