Over 600,000 displaced Lebanese return home amid ceasefire: IOM

More than 640,000 displaced people in Lebanon have returned home, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as clashes between Hezbollah and Israel have wound down following a deal to end the Middle East war.

Lebanon was drawn into the regional war on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.

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Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and an invasion of southern Lebanon, where its troops still occupy swathes of territory.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks have killed roughly 4,300 people and displaced over one million, particularly from southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

In a report on Thursday, the IOM said “646,107 IDPs (internally displaced persons) have begun returning to their communities,” while about 500,000 other people remain displaced, based on data collected in coordination with local authorities since June 22.

An agreement signed by Tehran and Washington last month established a ceasefire in Lebanon starting June 21.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have returned to their homes in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Lebanese authorities say they have worked to remove informal tent encampments in and around Beirut and reduce the number of official shelters.

But it remains impossible to return to dozens of towns and villages near the southern border, many of which have suffered massive destruction.

Israeli officials moreover vow their forces will remain in a “security zone” 10 kilometers (six miles) deep, despite the ceasefire.

Last week Lebanon and Israel concluded a US-backed framework agreement aiming to pave the way for a permanent end to the war.

The agreement calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there – starting with two “pilot” areas.

However, the agreement – rejected by Hezbollah – does not set a timetable for Israeli withdrawal.

Instead, it makes Israeli withdrawal contingent on Hezbollah’s disarmament first, a tall order that experts say the Lebanese state cannot meet.

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