‘Thank god we are home’: Lebanese return south after ceasefire with Israel

People are relieved to be home but face having to re-build lives among destroyed homes and villages

Before the ceasefire had even come into effect, Zeinab and Dina were already driving south. The two sisters had been forced to flee to Tripoli, northern Lebanon, for 64 days - they had counted - and they could not bear another day without seeing home.

We were laughing and crying at the same time when we heard the news of the ceasefire. We were packing our stuff and still we didn't believe it was happening, it was like a dream," said Zeinab Beezeh, a 28-year-old resident of the town of Zibqeen, south Lebanon.

Zeinab and Dina joined the tens of thousands of Lebanese who headed south on Wednesday morning after a ceasefire came into effect, ending more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel's military warned residents not to return south, sending pre-recorded messages across Lebanon with a reminder that despite the ceasefire, south Lebanon was still a military zone.