More than 800,000 displaced Lebanese returning home after war

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — More than 800,000 people displaced by war in Lebanon have begun returning to their hometowns following a lull in violence amid the Israel-Hezbollah war, the United Nations said.

The announcement late on Tuesday came as Lebanon and Israel began a new round of United States-sponsored talks in Rome aimed at ending the fighting, which are scheduled to run until Thursday.

UN humanitarian agency the OCHA said “821,077 people had begun the return to their areas of origin as of 30 July,” but added that more than 360,000 remained displaced, around 26,000 of them in government shelters.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war in March by firing rockets at Israel in support of its backer Iran.

Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people and displaced more than a million at the peak.

Violence has decreased since the signing in June of a preliminary US-Iran agreement on the wider regional conflict, which includes a ceasefire in Lebanon, and following a US-sponsored deal between Israel and Lebanon.