Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire begins — region waits to see if it will hold

The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militants began early Wednesday as a region on edge wondered whether it will hold.

The ceasefire announced Tuesday is a major step toward ending nearly 14 months of fighting sparked by the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

There were no immediate reports of violations, and there were signs of celebration in Beirut. But Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the agreement.

The ceasefire calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor compliance.

An Israeli military spokesman, in an Arabic-language X post in the first half-hour of the ceasefire, warned displaced residents of southern Lebanon to not head home yet, saying the military remained deployed there.

Despite such warnings, streams of cars began heading to southern Lebanon, which borders Israel, after the ceasefire early on Wednesday, according to Reuters witnesses.

The ceasefire began at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday, a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the start of the conflict that, in recent weeks, turned into all-out war. At least 42 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities.

The ceasefire does not address the devastating war in Gaza, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable.

There appeared to be lingering disagreement over whether Israel would have the right to strike Hezbollah if it believed the militants had violated the agreement, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted was part of the deal but which Lebanese and Hezbollah officials have rejected.

Israel's security cabinet approved the U.S.-France-brokered ceasefire after Netanyahu presented it, his office said. U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, called the agreement "good news" and said his administration would make a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza.

In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that the ceasefire was "a much-needed step toward stability and security in the region." And he thanked France and the U.S. for their work in making it happen.

Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have exchanged barrages ever since.

Israel escalated its bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of Israelis could return to their homes.

More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.