Middle East Crisis Israel-Hezbollah

Lebanon warns internally displaced people: Don't rush home

Authorities in southern Lebanon are warning internally displaced people not to rush home after the US and Iran signed a peace deal. The reason is that Israel will not withdraw its troops from the area, Reuters reports.

Israeli forces have established what they call a security zone in southern Lebanon during the fighting against the Iran-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah. Attacks on the area have continued despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

- We are hesitant. We cannot trust Israel, says Mona Mazeh, who fled her home near the city of Tyre, which has been bombed several times.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says that Israel is not part of the agreement between the US and Iran, and will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, Gaza or Syria.

Diffused emotions as thousands return home: “Israel cannot be trusted”

Thousands of the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the war between Israel and the Hezbollah militia have begun returning home, Reuters reports. This after it became clear that the peace agreement between Iran and the United States also includes an end to the war in Lebanon.

But while expectant adults and children rush home, they are warned by local authorities because Israel has announced that it will not withdraw its troops from the southern parts of the country. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also states that Lebanon is not part of the agreement between Iran and the United States.

Local politicians have asked people in a statement to wait to return home until the fighting between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel has paused.

Displaced Mona Mazeh tells Reuters that she has no plans to return to her home in Tyre in southern Lebanon.

“Israel cannot be trusted,” she explains.

Israel on the Agreement: Will Not Withdraw from Lebanon

The agreement that is on the table between the US and Iran does not apply to Israel. This is claimed by Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's Minister of Homeland Security, according to news agencies.

"We are not a party to this agreement. It does not protect our security," he writes on social media.

According to the US and Iran, Lebanon is covered by the new agreement, something that Israel has opposed on several occasions.

At the same time, the country's Defense Minister Israel Katz says that it will not withdraw from the areas it has occupied in Lebanon.

"If Iran attacks Israel because of the situation in Lebanon, we will respond," he says in a statement.