A man who returns to his village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, flashes victory sign as he stands on the rubble of his destroyed house in Nabatiyeh town, southern Lebanon. [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]
Forcibly displaced families are returning to shattered towns and villages in southern Lebanon after the initial announcement of a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran.
Months of cross-border fire and air raids have levelled homes, shops and public buildings, leaving some neighbourhoods barely recognisable. As word of the ceasefire filtered through, families who had been sheltering with relatives, in schools or in crowded apartments in safer areas, began making the journey back to see what remains of their property.
Many are finding collapsed roofs, burned-out cars and rooms stripped of doors and windows. With basic services still disrupted and the security situation uncertain, some residents are choosing to stay only long enough to salvage documents, clothing and household items before leaving again. Others, with nowhere else to go, are attempting to restart their lives amid the destruction.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 3,798 people since March 2, according to the Ministry of Public Health. They have also forcibly displaced about 1.2 million people
A displaced woman holds a poster of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as she sits on top of a van with relatives returning to their homes in southern Lebanon. [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]A displaced woman flashes a victory sign from inside a car as she travels with relatives back to their home in southern Lebanon, on the highway in Sidon. [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]A displaced man packs his family’s belongings as he prepares to return to his village in the southern port city of Sidon. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo]A displaced woman checks her mobile phone as she waits to return to her village, after the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, in Sidon. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo]Displaced residents drive back towards their villages after the initial US-Iran ceasefire agreement, in Rmayleh, near the southern port city of Sidon. [Mohammed Anouti/AP Photo]A woman returning to her village places a Hezbollah flag on the wreckage of her destroyed house in Maaroub, south Lebanon. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo]People returning to their village walk past others inspecting their destroyed homes in Deir Qanoun, south Lebanon. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo]A Shia sheikh returning to his village collects religious books from his destroyed library in Deir Qanoun, south Lebanon. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo]A woman and her children walk past their destroyed house after returning to their village in Deir Qanoun, south Lebanon. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo]Residents returning to their village gather with journalists on a destroyed street in Bir al-Salasil, south Lebanon. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo]People returning to their village inspect the damage to their destroyed house in Deir Qanoun, south Lebanon. [Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo]
