“Day for history”: in South Lebanon, those displaced by war return by the thousands

On the first day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, this Wednesday, November 27, large traffic jams were created near the southern part of the country. Residents are returning after fleeing bombings and fighting. And hope the fragile peace lasts.

The dust is barely settling in southern Beirut. The area of ​​Jnah is still covered with an opaque veil, nourished by the smoke that comes buildings that were bombed the day before by the Israeli army. On Imam Sader’s main street, a construction machine clears the debris from a half-collapsed building. Opposite, Malek puts a tarpaulin over the windows of his apartment, and his face is completely burned. “The fire took everything from us… but by the will of God, there will be no more.” The thirty-year-old man, even if he has lost everything, wears a big smile. “Yes because the war is overit’s a day for history! The time to rebuild is now.” With a kick of his foot, he clears the pieces of wall blocking the opening of his front door. He doesn’t seem to know where to begin in the face of the task before him.

The contrast is striking with the chaos of the day before. The night of Tuesday 26 November to Wednesday 27 November was the most violent for Lebanon since the start of the war: