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Lebanese city Nabatieh cautiously returns after war, a week after peace deal
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

Lebanese city Nabatieh cautiously returns after war, a week after peace deal

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Residents cautiously return to the Lebanese city of Nabatieh, a week after a framework agreement for lasting peace between Lebanon and Israel was announced.
  • While some shops reopen and residents clear debris, the sense of security remains fragile, with sporadic funerals for Hezbollah fighters and ongoing fear of renewed conflict.
  • Despite the agreement, some residents report continued Israeli drone activity and nighttime gunfire, highlighting the precariousness of the peace.

The streets of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon are slowly filling with cars and pedestrians again, four months after Israeli bombardments. A week has passed since a framework agreement for lasting peace between Lebanon and Israel was announced in Washington, bringing a relative calm.

However, the return is cautious. Some streets, recently deserted due to fear of attacks, now host funeral processions for Hezbollah fighters killed during the Israeli offensive. Two convoys, each with about thirty vehicles adorned with white flowers and Hezbollah flags, pass through the city, accompanied by ambulances carrying the bodies.

When there is an attack, people leave because they are afraid. The situation is slowly improving, but Nabatieh remains a contact zone.

— Mahdi ShmeisaniA 30-year-old resident displaced during the war explains the lingering fear and instability in Nabatieh.

As some shops reopen, residents are busy clearing debris from buildings reduced to rubble. The sounds of explosions are absent, but the feeling of security is fragile. "When there is an attack, people leave because they are afraid. The situation is slowly improving, but Nabatieh remains a contact zone," Mahdi Shmeisani, 30, told EFE. Displaced to Beirut during the war, he lost an uncle and five friends.

We don't know what awaits us.

— Hussein HamadeA 51-year-old florist expresses the uncertainty faced by residents returning to Nabatieh.

Hussein Hamade, a 51-year-old florist, returned three days ago after being displaced for four months. His business suffered damage, and he protects his windows with wood and plastic, stating, "We don't know what awaits us." He and his family still maintain a rented home as a precaution, as their own house is in an Israeli-occupied area, and he hasn't been able to check its condition.

For others, the agreement has brought little change. Ahmed Jaber, 62, claims Israeli drones still patrol the area, and gunfire is heard at night. "The only thing that has changed is that we no longer hear as many projectiles, but the war continues. People continue to live in fear," he laments. Ali Al Hajj Ali, a vegetable seller, shared a similar experience, reporting two bombings near his home shortly after the agreement announcement, forcing him to move his children. While they return to the city during the day, the family sleeps elsewhere at night.

The only thing that has changed is that we no longer hear as many projectiles, but the war continues. People continue to live in fear.

— Ahmed JaberA 62-year-old resident shares his perception that the conflict persists despite the peace agreement.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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