In southern Lebanon, residents in a hurry to return home after the truce

After the announcement of a truce with Israel, Amani Aatrash is impatient to be able to use the Qasmiyeh bridge, which bulldozers are repairing after an Israeli strike, to return to southern Lebanon, like tens of thousands of displaced people.

“We left an hour before the ceasefire came into force to arrive at the bridge as soon as it opened, and return to our village,” said this 37-year-old woman.

“The wait is difficult because we want to return as quickly as possible,” she adds as a line of cars lengthens in front of the bridge which connects the Tire region to the rest of Lebanon.

With her family, she had fled the village of Abbassieh, in the Tire region, to take refuge in northern Lebanon.

A ten-day truce, announced Thursday by US President Donald Trump, came into effect at midnight local time (9:00 p.m. GMT Thursday).

It comes after a month and a half of conflict between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which left nearly 2,200 dead in Lebanon.

- “Indescribable feeling” -

The war has displaced more than a million people, or a fifth of the country's population, particularly from the south and southern suburbs of the country, strongholds of Hezbollah.

“Our feeling is indescribable, a feeling of pride and victory,” adds Amani Aatrash.

“No Israeli soldier should stay on our land, they must withdraw and we can live in peace,” she adds.

The ceasefire agreement, however, does not mention the withdrawal of the Israeli army from areas near the border in the south that it occupied during the war.

From dawn, a long line of cars formed on the road leading to the Qasmiyeh bridge, which spans the Litani River.

And this despite warnings from the Israeli army which asked residents not to return to the south bank of the Litani and affirmed that it was maintaining its occupation of the border area.

A few hours before the ceasefire, Israeli bombings damaged the Qasmiyeh bridge and three bulldozers are working, under the supervision of the Lebanese army, to plug the crater caused by the bombs.

As soon as the road becomes passable again, motorcycles and then cars set off, some honking their horns in joy and waving the yellow Hezbollah flags.

The army announced that one of its units, in cooperation with local municipalities and NGOs, had reopened the bridge.

Before arriving there, a long line of cars, their roofs loaded with mattresses, blankets and household utensils, formed on the southern highway between Saida and Tyre.

Many displaced people interviewed by AFP say they do not know if their houses, which they fled under bombs six weeks ago, are still standing.

“When we left, it took us 16 hours” to get to Beirut due to huge traffic jams, says Ghufran Hamza, who waits with his son Deva