Despite ceasefire Israel drone strike in Lebanon kills 1

Beirut, Apr 17 (AP) An Israeli strike in the area of Kounine hit a car and a motorcycle, killing one person and wounding three, including a Syrian citizen, Lebanon's health ministry said Friday.
     It was the first airstrike and first fatality reported since a 10-day truce between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah took effect overnight.
     The Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon had reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of the south in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.
     The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has maintained that it still has the right to strike in Lebanon in response to perceived threats despite the ceasefire. There was no immediate response from Hezbollah.
    
     Thousands head home as US-brokered truce holds in Lebanon
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     A fragile calm settled over parts of Lebanon on Friday as a 10-day ceasefire brokered by the United States took hold between Israel and Hezbollah, prompting thousands of displaced families to begin the journey home — even as uncertainty, destruction and Israeli warnings against going back to parts of southern Lebanon clouded their return.
     By early morning, cars were backed up for kilometers on the route leading south to the damaged Qasmiyeh bridge over the Litani River, a key crossing linking the southern coastal city of Tyre to the north.
     Vehicles piled high with mattresses, suitcases and salvaged belongings crept forward through a single reopened lane, hastily repaired after an Israeli airstrike just a day earlier.
     Drivers heading back to their villages along coastal highways cheered each other, flashed victory signs and exchanged blessings.
    
     Lebanese army to secure south as Lebanon pushes Israeli withdrawal
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     Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the Lebanese army will play a “fundamental role” after the Israeli pullout, deploying in southern Lebanon and ending non-state armed presence.
     Speaking to a delegation of Beirut members of parliament on Friday, Aoun said among the state's priorities are consolidating the ceasefire, pushing for the withdrawal of Israeli forces, recovering Lebanese detainees and addressing pending border disputes with Israel.
     Aoun cited Thursday's phone call in which Trump expressed “support for Lebanon, its sovereignty, independence and the integrity of its territories,” describing it as one of the ceasefire's most prominent signals of external support as negotiations advance.
    
     Death toll of Lebanese killed in Israeli strikes increases to 2,294
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     Intense Israeli strikes on Thursday, one day before a 10-day US-brokered ceasefire, killed 98 people, Lebanon's health ministry said.
     Since the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted on March 2, at least 2,294 people have been killed, including 274 women and 177 children, according to the ministry. Another 7,185 people have been wounded, it added.
    
     Quiet returns to northern Israel, but residents remain divided
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     After hours of sirens sounded across northern Israel late Thursday night, residents described a rare sense of quiet on Friday after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect.
     Alerts across border communities stopped around 2 am, and in Kiryat Shmona, residents were seen at shopping malls and restaurants, with opinions divided over whether the 10-day ceasefire will hold.
     “I live 100 meters from the border. The ceasefire is a mistake,” said resident Asaf Oakil, reflecting scepticism among some who say the fighting should continue until Hezbollah is defeated.
     Another resident, expressing frustration after weeks of cross-border fire, said Israel should “strike harder” if attacks resume, adding that if rockets continue, “the whole area needs to be flattened.”
    
     'Our homes in the south are gone, destroyed'
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     In downtown Beirut, tents still line some areas as some families begin to leave, while others wait, weighing the risks of returning south.
     A tricycle piled with mattresses weaves through the camp, signalling the first departures after a fragile ceasefire.
     “Our homes in the south are gone, destroyed,” said Ali Balhas, from Siddiqeen town in the Tyre province.
     “Israel is deceptive; you never really know its policies or how it will act toward people, as you know. I have six children here, and I can't leave that quickly. Once there is more safety, we will try to take the children and go back. But yesterday, by around midnight, the young men and most of the people had already reached al- Zahrani, so we will leave later, God willing,” he added.
     Amira Ayyash, a woman from Qaaqaiat al-Jisr in the Nabatiyeh province, decided to wait and assess the situation before returning home. “We do not know at what hour they might strike us, for they are treacherous. So we decided to take it slowly,” she said. (AP) SCY
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)