A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah appeared to be holding as residents returned toward southern Lebanon, despite warnings from the Israeli and Lebanese military that they stay away from certain areas.

They agree to a ceasefire in one place and not in the other? Have mercy on the children, the elderly and the women.”

Parts of the landscape are ashen from fires sparked by fallen Hezbollah rockets. Even after a tenuous Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire designed to let Israelis return to the north, the mood here is far from celebratory. “The ceasefire is rubbish,” said ...