Ceasefire Takes Hold in Lebanon, Displaced Residents Return

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on April 17, 2026, leading to the return of displaced residents to villages in southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.

This followed weeks of conflict involving airstrikes, casualties, and rallies in Lebanon, Israel, and Iran during early March.

Return of Displaced Residents

Following the implementation of the ceasefire, displaced individuals began returning to multiple locations in Lebanon, including:

• Dahiyeh (Beirut's southern suburbs)
• Kfar Roumman
• Jiyeh
• Zefta
• Qasmiyeh
• Saida
• Jibchit
• Nabatiyeh

Observations from the return included residents driving past destroyed buildings, inspecting damaged properties, and municipal workers cleaning streets. In some instances, individuals were seen with flags bearing images of Hezbollah leaders.

A displaced woman in Beirut stated she was awaiting an official order from Hezbollah to return home. Rescue operations continued in some areas, with workers searching for victims in the rubble of a destroyed building in Tyre.

Prior Conflict Events in March 2026

The ceasefire followed a period of escalated conflict in the region during the second week of March 2026.

• Lebanon: An Israeli airstrike hit a building housing a branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a non-bank financial institution operated by Hezbollah, in Dahiyeh, Beirut.
• Iran: Photographs showed closed shops in the traditional main bazaar in Tehran.

• Lebanon: Further Israeli airstrikes occurred in Dahiyeh. A girl displaced by these strikes was observed in a school being used as a shelter in Beirut.
• Iran: A funeral was held in Tehran for Mehdi Hosseini, who was reported killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike. Rallies also took place in Tehran in support of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as a potential successor to his late father as supreme leader.
• Israel: In Yehud, Israeli security and ZAKA rescue service members transported the body of a man reported killed in an Iranian missile strike.

• Israel: A cordoned-off area was seen in Tel Aviv following a reported Iranian strike.
• Iran: A plume of smoke was documented rising from an oil storage facility in Tehran after a reported U.S.-Israeli strike.
• Lebanon: In Khraibeh village, eastern Lebanon, mourners held a funeral procession for Hezbollah fighters reported killed by Israeli airstrikes.

Observations from Affected Areas

Additional observations from Lebanon in the aftermath of the fighting included:

• Individuals receiving hospital treatment for injuries sustained in airstrikes, such as Mahmoud Sahmarani, 33, in Nabatiyeh.
• Residents entering heavily damaged homes and walking among debris in destroyed buildings and mosques.
• A Hezbollah health unit member placing portraits of colleagues killed in previous conflicts next to a destroyed building.

In northern Israel, unrelated observations from the period included a crow on a military-style decoy mannequin and an Israeli soldier at a coffee shop.