IOM says over 640,000 displaced Lebanese return home after ceasefire
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – More than 640,000 IDPs have returned to their homes in Lebanon following a decline in hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, according to the International Organization for Migration.
In a report published on July 2, the IOM said 646,107 displaced people had returned to their areas of origin, while nearly 500,000 people remain displaced, based on data collected in coordination with Lebanese authorities since June 22.
The returns come after a ceasefire in Lebanon took effect on June 21, following an agreement reached last month between Iran and the United States to end their regional conflict.
According to the IOM, hundreds of thousands of people have since returned to southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Last week, Lebanon and Israel, under U.S. mediation, reached a framework agreement intended to pave the way for ending the war after five rounds of negotiations between the two countries, which do not maintain diplomatic relations.
The agreement includes the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from areas it entered in southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army beginning in two designated pilot zones.