Lebanese cheer Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement

Deal is major win for US-led diplomacy; Israel expected to focus on Iran, Hamas

BEIRUT - Tens of thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war between Israel and Hezbollah began the journey back home as a ceasefire took hold on Nov 27, with many celebrating an end to the deadly fighting.

The road from the Lebanese capital Beirut to the south of Lebanon has been congested since the early hours after the ceasefire was announced.

Suitcases, mattresses and blankets - the necessities people grabbed as they fled and what they received in shelters over the past two months - were stacked on the roofs of cars. Some people hung out of their windows, waving the yellow flags of Hezbollah.

"What we feel is indescribable," said one Lebanese driver on the road to the south. "The people have won."

At one bakery along the highway, employees gave out Lebanese flags and small cookies with tiny banners that said "Smile, better days are coming" to customers.

Songs by the Lebanese singer Nouhad Wadie Haddad, known as Fairuz, blasted from speakers.

"The songs we're playing today are especially for this occasion," Mr Abdullah Daher, manager of the bakery, Al Forno, said. "Even a week ago, I couldn't have imagined this war would end. Now, look, all these people are returning home."

Lebanon's army, which is tasked with helping make sure the ceasefire holds, said in a statement on Nov 27 that it was preparing to deploy to the south of Lebanon.