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When Israel and Hezbollah agreed on a ceasefire in November 2024, almost immediately Hassan Younes rushed to Beirut's devastated southern suburbs as people returned to celebrate and survey the damage.
But in 2026, as Israel and Hezbollah agreed on an unsteady 10-day ceasefire, he is much more cautious – reflecting the greater uncertainty and volatility this time around.
“If they stop [fighting] for good, I will go,” Mr Younes said. “I don't believe this ceasefire. Let's see what will happen in 10 days.”
While the noisy Israeli surveillance drones so common over Beirut remained absent from the skies on Friday, Lebanon knows there is a long road ahead.
Despite Mr Younes's caution, many people did rush back to the southern suburbs – also known as Dahieh – despite the Israeli military ordering them not to.
Just after midnight, the sound of gunfire and even the occasional rocket-propelled grenade cloaked Beirut; it was not Israeli, but gunshots of celebration in Lebanon as a respite from the 46-day war came.
The Lebanese Armed Forces said they arrested at least seven people who shot weapons in a celebratory way into the air as the ceasefire came into effect.
The suburbs – which are a bastion of Hezbollah support but also one of the most densely populated parts of Lebanon – were vacated in a matter of hours at the start of the war by Israel's forced displacement orders. The area then underwent extensive Israeli bombardment.
Many residents will return to homes destroyed by the war to live in a country where the state is unable to help.
President Joseph Aoun will address the nation at 8pm local time on the ceasefire and offer an update on direct negotiations with Israel, with which the nation has never had diplomatic relations.
In his 86 years, Beirut resident Serge Chehab has witnessed the string of wars that have plagued the Lebanese capital throughout his lifetime. Yet, feeling positive on Friday, he said of the truce: “I hope it will not cease.
“I am optimistic. Look how the people are going south to rebuild,” he said of the many returning home.
In downtown Beirut, many roads leading from the south into the Martyrs' Square area have become increasingly clogged in recent weeks, as some of the more than one million displaced have sought refuge in the capital in their cars.
Some have now left, joining the lengthy motorway queues south for those wanting to return home and assess the damage.
But many other displaced people were unable to do so. While the respite from fighting and the merciless Israeli drones has been appreciated, the situation remains grim. Any chance of widespread reconstruction soon is effectively zero and much of south Lebanon remains occupied.
The Israeli military has seized more Lebanese territory in the past six weeks. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday the Israeli army will continue to hold “all positions, cleaned and captured, in Lebanon” and would not withdraw.
But, as Mr Younes pointed out, it still had not achieved its main goal.
“Israel's target is to finish Hezbollah. Why would they stop? OK, maybe they stop for 10 days but Hezbollah is still there and the rockets are still there and Iran is still there. I don't know, I hope it will end forever but I don't think so.”
