640,000 Displaced Lebanese Return Home

The conflict between Hizbullah and Israel has subsided. More than 640,000 displaced Lebanese residents have returned to their homes. Lebanon was dragged into the regional war on 2 March when Hizbullah—backed by Tehran—fired rockets towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in a US-Israeli strike. Israel responded with massive air strikes and an invasion of southern Lebanon, where its forces still occupy parts of the territory. Lebanese authorities state the Israeli attacks killed around 4,300 people and displaced more than one million, primarily from southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut. In a report on Thursday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that ‘646,107 internally displaced persons have begun returning to their communities,’ whilst approximately 500,000 others remain displaced, based on data gathered in coordination with local authorities since 22 June. An agreement signed by Tehran and Washington last month established a ceasefire in Lebanon that commenced on 21 June. Since then, hundreds of thousands have returned to their homes in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.