Lebanon Warns Displaced Residents Against Rushing Home Despite US-Iran Ceasefire Deal
Lebanon has warned displaced residents not to rush home despite a US-Iran deal aimed at ending hostilities.
Lebanon has warned displaced residents not to rush home despite a US-Iran deal aimed at ending hostilities.
Authorities in southern Lebanon have urged residents displaced by months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah not to return home immediately, despite the announcement of a US-Iran agreement aimed at ending wider hostilities in the region.
The warning comes as Israel indicated it would not withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, even after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced early Monday that a deal had been reached between Washington and Tehran to halt military operations “on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
The conflict has had devastating consequences for Lebanon, with thousands killed and around 1.2 million people displaced following an Israeli military offensive against Hezbollah, which began after the Iran-backed group opened fire on Israel on March 2 in support of Tehran.
In southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces continue to occupy a self-declared security zone, municipal councils issued statements advising displaced residents to delay their return, according to the state-run National News Agency.
Many families remain in temporary shelters in Beirut and other safer areas. One displaced resident, Mona Mazeh, sheltering in the capital’s Hamra district, said she had no immediate plans to return to her village near Tyre, citing deep mistrust.
“Frankly, we are hesitant; Israel cannot be trusted,” she said.
In Nabatieh, a heavily damaged city in the south, residents who briefly returned to assess the destruction described widespread devastation. Mohammed Daqdouq said rebuilding would take years.
“We’ll need a lifetime to rebuild – to rebuild it again and bring Nabatieh back to how it was,” he said.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, speaking separately, said Israel was not party to the US-Iran agreement and would maintain its security positions in southern Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria.
He added that Israel would retaliate if Iran launched attacks in response to developments in Lebanon. Katz also said the southern Lebanon security zone would be cleared of local residents and “all terrorist infrastructure,” including homes in border villages, which he described as being used by Hezbollah.
The Israeli military has been carrying out demolitions in southern Lebanon for weeks, saying it is targeting Hezbollah militants operating within civilian areas in the predominantly Shi’ite region.
There has so far been no official response from Hezbollah regarding the reported deal. However, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of the group and head of the Shi’ite Amal Movement, welcomed the announcement, saying it could lay “the foundations for security and stability in the region, including Lebanon.”
He also thanked Iran and the United States for including a halt to Israeli strikes on Lebanon in the agreement, describing the provision as binding.
Iran, which established Hezbollah’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard-linked origins in 1982, had previously insisted on guarantees tied to any broader ceasefire arrangement.
Despite the diplomatic announcement, uncertainty remains high on the ground, with large-scale displacement continuing and many communities still unable to return to their homes.
