The Lebanese military has reopened vital roads and bridges damaged by Israeli strikes, allowing displaced residents to return cautiously amid a fragile ceasefire.
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s military announced on Sunday the reopening of a key road and bridge in the country’s south that were damaged by Israeli strikes, as a ten-day truce with Israel holds.
The army stated it had fully reopened the road linking the city of Nabatieh with the Khardali area and partially reopened the Burj Rahal-Tyre bridge.
Work is also underway to rehabilitate the Tayr Falsay-Tyre bridge following damage caused by what the army termed “the Israeli aggression”.
Israeli strikes on bridges crossing the Litani river, which flows around 30 kilometres north of Israel, had largely cut off the area south of the waterway from the rest of Lebanon.
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Friday after the first direct talks between the sides in decades, pausing weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed nearly 2,300 people and displaced more than a million.
Since the truce began, Lebanon’s military and local authorities have worked to reopen roads blocked by Israeli strikes.
The vital Qasmiyeh bridge was also reopened on Friday morning, allowing countless people displaced from southern Lebanon by the fighting to return to the area and check on their property.
Many residents have remained hesitant to venture back with the longevity of the truce uncertain.
On Saturday, an AFP correspondent in the southern city of Sidon saw heavy traffic heading to Beirut as displaced southerners returned to temporary homes and shelters in the capital after briefly visiting southern areas.
Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati warned earlier that day that “Israeli treachery is expected at any time, and this is a temporary truce”.
“Take a breath, relax a little, but do not abandon the places you have taken refuge in until we are completely reassured about your return,” he said.
The Israeli military has carried out strikes and demolitions in southern Lebanon despite the truce.
It also said on Saturday that it had established a “yellow line” in southern Lebanon, similar to one in Gaza that separates Israeli forces from areas held by Hamas.
