After the truce between Israel and Hamas, “cautious calm” in southern Lebanon

Since the truce took effect in Gaza on Friday morning, villages in the western, central and eastern sectors on the Lebanese-Israeli border have been living in a “state of cautious calm”, as no Israeli bombing, military operations or targeting by Hezbollah has been recorded, according to Al Hurra’s correspondent.

The correspondent revealed that this situation “still applies to the villages of southern Lebanon until Saturday morning.”

Several border areas are preparing for the return of a number of families who were displaced a few days ago due to tensions at the border, in order to inspect their homes and property, part of which was damaged as a result of the mutual bombing between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in the recent period.

These movements, according to the correspondent, come despite the Lebanese Army leadership’s call on citizens to “take the utmost precaution and caution against the remnants of the Israeli bombing, especially phosphorous munitions and unexploded ordnance, and not to approach them, and to continue adhering to the prevention measures generalized by the army.”

However, the official media agency in Lebanon reported that “an interceptor missile exploded in the airspace of the towns of Mays al-Jabal and Blida, Marjayoun district in the central sector, at 2:30 after midnight, local time, and its echo was heard throughout the south.”

For its part, the Israeli army announced the sound of sirens in the Upper Galilee and the downing of a surface-to-air missile launched from Lebanon towards an Israeli march.

Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization, on October 7, the border region with southern Lebanon has witnessed an increasing military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began carrying out operations against Israeli targets, placing this within the framework of supporting “our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their resistance…”, according to its statements.

Israel responds to these repeated attacks on a daily basis, by bombing border areas, targeting what it describes as the movements of Hezbollah fighters and its military infrastructure near the border.

In the middle of the week, Qatar, the main mediator, along with Egypt and the United States, reached a truce agreement that will last four days and can be extended. The truce stipulates the exchange of 50 hostages held in Gaza for 150 Palestinian detainees.

On Friday, Hamas released 24 people, including 13 Israeli women and children, 10 people from Thailand and one Filipino, while Israel released 39 Palestinians from its prisons.

On Saturday, it is expected that more Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners will be released on the second day of the truce between Hamas and Israel, an agreement that brought some fragile calm to the residents of Gaza after seven weeks of war.