A fragile homecoming: Lebanon’s displaced return south under temporary ceasefire

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian 

At midnight, it was not only a ceasefire that began; it marked the start of a long and difficult journey home.

Along the roads stretching from Beirut to Sidon, Nabatieh and Tyre, those returning carried what remained in small bags. Their message was clear: This land, no matter how much it burns, cannot be taken from its people.

Residents of southern Lebanon returned to villages they had fled in haste, to streets scarred by airstrikes and to homes some were unsure were still standing or had already turned to rubble.

There was visible relief in the scene, but it reflected survival rather than celebration. The return was no longer a simple journey.

The roads leading to many villages were difficult to navigate. Bridges that once connected the north and south of the Litani River had been destroyed. Qasmiyeh, Zrariyeh, Khardali, and Qantara were cut off, as if the passage itself had been targeted. Yet people returned, even before repairs began.

The Qasmiyeh bridge, which had been struck multiple times, was temporarily reopened by the army and civil defense to allow crossings. Those who found no bridge made their own way. Cars crossed riverbeds to reach their destinations.

This took place while the ceasefire that enabled the return is set to last 10 days, with no certainty that it will hold. Still, many chose to return, saying waiting had become more difficult than the risk.

Many Lebanese headed home not because conditions were fully safe, but because they prioritized returning despite the risks.

Between the relief of arrival and the scale of destruction, the situation reflected a broader reality: People returned not because they had forgotten what happened, but because they believed they still had a home, a memory, and a future that should not be left to ruin.