Lebanon’s army reported “acts of aggression” by Israel that it said violated a ceasefire which took effect at midnight Friday local time.
Lebanon’s army in an X post early on Friday called on residents in the south to exercise caution “in light of a number of violations” of the ceasefire agreement by “several Israeli acts of aggression.”
Gunfire erupted in Beirut’s southern suburbs as a ceasefire with Israel came into effect at midnight on Friday (2100 GMT Thursday), according to AFP journalists and AFPTV footage.
State media also reported “heavy gunfire” accompanying the start of the 10-day truce, announced earlier by US President Donald Trump.
AFP journalists heard shots rang out and RPGs erupting into the air shortly after midnight and continuing for well over half an hour, as red bullet traces took off into the sky.
AFPTV footage showed people returning to the city’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, some waving the Iran-backed movement’s yellow flag or carrying portraits of its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed by Israel in 2024.
Videos circulating on social media showed queues of cars in several areas in the south as displaced residents returned to their homes. Lebanese authorities say the war has displaced more than one million people.
Hezbollah earlier on Thursday called on Lebanese residents to postpone their return to the country’s south, the Bekaa valley, and Beirut’s southern suburbs, “until the situation becomes completely clear”.
The Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee, in a statement, also advised people to wait “until you are certain that a ceasefire has been officially declared and has come into effect” and urged people to “wait until morning” before taking to the roads.
The army command also called on citizens to heed instructions of Lebanese soldiers deployed in the south, where Israeli troops have invaded across the border, and to beware of unexploded ordnance and “suspicious objects”.
Lebanese state media said “despite the passage of about half an hour after the ceasefire came into effect, the artillery of the enemy Israeli army is still shelling the towns of Khiam and Debbine, in conjunction with combing operations with machine guns in the area.”
10-day ceasefire takes effect
A ten-day ceasefire deal agreed between Lebanon and Israel took effect on Friday, as US President Donald Trump said he was trying to set up the first-ever face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the two countries.
The truce, which Trump said would begin at midnight local time in Lebanon and Israel (2100 GMT), comes as Washington steps up efforts to reach a deal to end the war with Iran, with Tehran insisting a Lebanon truce must be part of any agreement.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon have so far killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than one million, while Israeli ground forces have invaded the country’s south.
As the ceasefire came into force, Israel’s military said it had struck over 380 “Hezbollah terror organization targets in southern Lebanon” and was on “high alert” to resume strikes.
The US leader said the deal to halt hostilities came after “excellent” phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “These two leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” or 2100 GMT, Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
He later said he expected Netanyahu and Aoun to visit the White House “over the next four or five days”.
A top-level face-to-face meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli leadership would be a watershed moment for the region.