After Lebanon ceasefire, people displaced by Israeli strikes return to what’s left of their homes
“My house is demolished.”
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Imad Komeyha and his family spent 12 hours traveling from northern Lebanon to the southern village of Kfar Sir, only to find their home in ruins, destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.
He was among a million people displaced by Israel’s invasion, launched in March after Hezbollah, a powerful Iranian-backed force in Lebanon separate from the government, fired rockets from Lebanon in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon had reached a 10-day ceasefire agreement, but many returning to their homes in southern Lebanon found only destruction.
“I’m devastated,” Komeyha, a 62-year-old political analyst, told NBC News. “My eldest son is married and has a baby. He lives downstairs, in the same building, his house is also gone.”
Komeyha said this was the third time his family had been displaced, having fled the village in 2006 and 2024, and that he was tired of repeating the cycle of loss and return. “How many times do we have to leave our house? » he said. “My whole family is homeless and we want to stay anyway. »
Although the ceasefire opened a narrow window for displaced families to return to the south, it did little to resolve the conflict or guarantee their safety.
Across the region, hundreds of thousands of people are wondering whether to return to their homes that may no longer exist, even as Israeli forces remain and the risk of renewed violence persists.
A French peacekeeper was killed on Saturday and three others injured after a United Nations patrol came under fire, with French President Emmanuel Macron blaming Hezbollah. The same day, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed and nine others injured by an explosive.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since the start of the Israeli invasion, according to figures from the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that the IDF would “continue to operate in the security zone” it established in southern Lebanon “to counter threats against them and our communities, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.” The Lebanese army warned the population to avoid “approaching areas where Israeli occupying forces have advanced.”
Although these warnings did not stop people from returning home, they did increase the sense of fear and uncertainty.
Adeeb Farhat, a 34-year-old filmmaker from Arab Salim, feared that Israel could “attack us any minute,” but he made the return trip south anyway.
“To tell the truth, this time it is extremely scary, but we can’t do anything about it, we have to come and check our houses. Our sense of belonging is very strong,” he said.
Others are preparing to follow despite the risks.
Ikbal Daher, a housewife from Qana in southern Lebanon, told NBC News on Friday that she plans to return to her village this weekend. “We know there is massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Cana,” said Daher, 40, but “we are excited, happy and proud.”
“Yes, we don’t trust Israel and we might be exposed to airstrikes, but we don’t care,” she added.
Although some are moving forward with cautious determination, the ceasefire itself remains fragile and conditional. The agreement commits Israel and Lebanon to “engage in direct negotiations in good faith, facilitated by the United States, with the aim of reaching a comprehensive agreement ensuring lasting security, stability, and peace between the two countries,” the State Department said.
The Lebanese government must “take significant measures” to prevent Hezbollah from carrying out attacks against Israel, the statement added, while Israel “will preserve its right to take all necessary self-defense measures, at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.”
Hezbollah said its fighters would remain “on the trigger” in case Israel violated the ceasefire. On Saturday, the group published “five points” that it wants to see respected in the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
These include a definitive end to air, land and sea attacks against Lebanon, Israel’s withdrawal from occupied areas of southern Lebanon, the release of prisoners, the return of residents to their homes on the border and the reconstruction of the area with international support, said Naim Qassem, Hezbollah secretary general.
Despite uncertainty over the extension of the ceasefire to a longer-term agreement and the fate of the region, some people returning to southern Lebanon have remained steadfast in their determination to rebuild their lives there.
Ali Eid, a high school teacher from Maarakah in the south, returned with his five children to find his house and most of the village reduced to ruins, but the 60-year-old said he felt “happy and sad at the same time”, delighted to see his neighbors again.
“Our losses are incredible. Many people have been killed, all our property has disappeared, all our achievements have disappeared,” he added. “It’s not easy, but life and survival are stronger.”
