OCHA: 178,000 displaced civilians unable to return to south Lebanon

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 178,817 Lebanese civilians are unable to return to their homes in the south of the country despite the ceasefire deal with Israel, Anadolu reported.

An OCHA report issued yesterday on the situation in Lebanon between 6-12 December said 902,717 Lebanese civilians have returned to their homes while 178,817 people are still displaced. According to the report, 55,000 Syrians have also returned to their country after the ceasefire came into force on 27 November.

The ceasefire deal ended 14 months of fighting between the Israeli occupation army and Hezbollah. It is, however, described as fragile, with Israel violating it over 225 times, according to local sources.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is to withdraw its forces south of the Blue Line de facto border in a phased manner while the Lebanese army will deploy its forces in southern Lebanon within a maximum of 60 days.

Implementation is to be overseen by the US and France, but details on enforcement mechanisms remain unclear.

More than 4,000 people have been killed and over 16,500 injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon over the past 14 months, while 1.2 million people were displaced, according to Lebanese health authorities.

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