Sawt Falasteen - 10-day Israel-Lebanon truce begins as Lebanese army warns of 'violations'

Shortly after the truce went into effect at midnight local time (2100 GMT), the army told residents of the south -- many of whom had to flee their homes following sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings -- not to return, citing "several Israeli acts of aggression".

Nonetheless, AFP images showed packed cars heading southwards along Lebanon's coastal highway before dawn, and crossing at sunrise what was left of a bridge bombed by Israel during the war.

Displaced resident Alaa Damash acknowledged the warnings "to wait a bit" before rushing back home.

But the people's "love for their lands and houses, and their attachment to them, pushed them to go back there despite the fire threats", she said.

The ceasefire represents a key step in Washington's efforts to reach a deal to end its war with Iran, with Tehran insisting a Lebanon truce must be part of any agreement.

Mediator Islamabad has been leading the international push to restart face-to-face talks between Tehran and Washington with Trump signaling he might fly to Pakistan to sign any agreement -- adding they were "very close" to striking one.

The fighting in Lebanon broke out on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel just a few days after the start of the Middle East war in retribution for the death of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in the opening waves of US-Israeli strikes.

Gunfire rang out overnight in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah holds sway, as the ceasefire came into effect -- an apparent bout of spontaneous celebration, although that could not be confirmed.

Traffic accumulated kilometres away from the only bridge connecting the coastal region south of Lebanon's Litani River to the rest of the country, as people lined up for hours waiting for a chance to return home, AFP journalists said.

As the ceasefire came into effect, Israel's military said it had struck over 380 "Hezbollah terror organization targets in southern Lebanon" and was on "high alert" to resume strikes.

Trump said he had spoken to both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun ahead of the truce, adding the pair had agreed to the truce "in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries".

He later said he expected Netanyahu and Aoun to visit the White House "over the next four or five days".

- 'Very happy' -

A top-level face-to-face meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli leadership would be a watershed moment for the region.

But it remained to be seen whether it would take place.

Netanyahu said the ceasefire with Lebanon offered an opportunity for a "historic peace agreement" with Beirut -- but insisted that the disarmament of militant group Hezbollah remained a precondition.

Trump said Hezbollah was included in the ceasefire, but according to the US State Department, the truce committed Lebanon itself to dismantle the Iran-backed militant group.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed Trump's announcement of the ceasefire, saying a truce was a "key Lebanese demand that we have pursued since the very first day of the war" between Hezbollah and Israel.

But the Lebanese president had rejected Trump's request for a direct call with Netanyahu, an official source told AFP.

In Beirut, housewife Jamal Shehab, 61, applauded the truce.

"We are very happy that a ceasefire has been reached in Lebanon because we are tired of war and we want safety and peace," she said.

Trump called the development "very exciting", in response to a question from an AFP reporter as he left the White House. "Today they're going to be having a ceasefire, and that'll include Hezbollah."

A Hezbollah lawmaker told AFP it would "cautiously adhere" to the truce if Israel stopped attacks.

Ibrahim al-Moussawi thanked Iran for having applied pressure in Lebanon's favour -- adding that "the ceasefire would not have happened without Iran considering the ceasefire as equal to closing the Strait of Hormuz".

Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the truce but would maintain a 10-kilometre (six-mile) "security zone" along the border in southern Lebanon.

Lethal violence continued right up until shortly before the truce began, with Lebanon's health ministry saying at least seven people were killed and more than 30 wounded in an Israeli strike on the town of Ghazieh on Thursday.

An Israeli hospital spokesman also said three people had been injured on Thursday.

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Z.AlNajjar--SF-PST