On December 11, the Israeli army withdrew from Khiam, which had seen heavy fighting and bombardment, and the Lebanese army deployed there, in the first such move under the truce deal.
UNIFIL “helped the Lebanese army to confirm… that there were no Israeli troops in Khiam”, said Angel Saldana, a peacekeeper from Spain, noting it was a challenging operation due to the risk of unexploded ordnance.
Monday saw a second Israeli troop withdrawal in the coastal town of Naqura, and the Lebanese army said the following day that it began deploying to several other border areas after Israeli forces pulled out.
Saldana said local residents “are trying to go home as far as they are allowed to”, noting some areas are still unsafe.
Many in Lebanon are anxiously awaiting the 60-day withdrawal deadline, fearing more violence.
Marjayoun resident Tamame al-Kadri, 54, who fled last year after a strike nearby, said she came back the same day as the ceasefire but does not “feel like the situation is calm”.
“There is no place to shelter here… we’re really psychologically exhausted,” she said, recalling the “terror” of months of hostilities.
‘Still afraid’
The Israeli army has repeatedly warned residents not to return to villages and towns in a strip of Lebanese territory along the frontier.
The UN migration agency said this month that more than 120,000 people remain displaced in Lebanon, while Israeli authorities say some 51,000 people are displaced from their country’s north.
