Scepticism, relief in northern Israel after Lebanon ceasefire
Surrounded by open shops and busy traffic, residents of northern Israel cautiously welcomed the seeming calm brought by a ceasefire with Hezbollah -- but scepticism was high over whether it would really last.
In a central square in the coastal city of Nahariya, just 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border with Lebanon, old friends Nissim and Meir voiced disappointment with the ceasefire, while others nearby said they still felt unsafe.
"It's a shame, we should have continued for at least another two months and finished the job," Nissim Ravivo, 70, said. "We still don't feel safe and we are not happy about it," he told AFP.
A US and French-brokered truce took effect before dawn between Israel and militant Islamist group Hezbollah, which had been firing rockets, missiles and drones since its Palestinian ally Hamas attacked Israel in October last year triggering war in Gaza.
Meir, who declined to give his full name as he is a public sector worker, agreed with his friend, Ravivo.
"We started this operation and we were making progress, we needed to finish it," he said. "I've seen the damage in all the communities around here, all those who lost their income and their homes, what was it all for?"
Nearby, wine seller Nes Kari said she felt no safer than she did on Tuesday despite the ceasefire. "Don't believe there will be peace," the 25-year-old said. "How can we trust an enemy that has said it wants to kill us?"
Shimon Porat said he too felt no different after the ceasefire "because we don't know what will happen", though he welcomed the end of relentless rocket fire.
Around 60,000 people from northern Israel were displaced by the hostilities, and the Israeli government has yet to indicate when or how they can return home.
"I will feel relief when all the residents along the northern border return home," Porat, 62, said.
- 'Mixed feelings' -
Despite the appearance of life slowly returning to some semblance of normality, schools remained closed in Nahariya and elsewhere.
School deputy principal Liat Peretz said she had "mixed feelings".
"On the one hand, there is still this threat to us, but on the other hand, I believe that if they (Israeli government) reached this decision, it is overall the best for us," she said.
Peretz described how businesses collapsed in Nahariya and the "unpleasant atmosphere".
"It was sad to have seen the students who lost themselves, there was no life. So now we are returning to life, hopefully it is a good step for all of us."
For many, the end of hostilities offered a welcome respite from living in fear.
"I feel much better knowing there is a ceasefire now," Baha Arafat, 44, said. "There is no shelter nearby and it has been a tense few days."
Arafat continued to run his shawarma business after full-scale war erupted in September even though he saw a sharp reduction in customers.
Setting up his stand, he described how people would place an order and run to the shelters when the sirens sounded. Some never came back for their meals.
- 'Feel good' -
Alana Sverdlov, who fled to Israel from Ukraine after Russia's invasion more than two years ago, echoed Arafat's feelings, saying she was relieved that the guns have fallen silent, even though her children have yet to return to school.
Despite the war, the 50-year-old is still happy to be in Nahariya. "It has been stressful, especially for my children, but now we feel good that there is a ceasefire," she told AFP.
The Israel-Hezbollah war killed at least 3,823 people in Lebanon, according to health ministry figures, most of them after Israel stepped up its bombing campaign in September.
On the Israeli side, the hostilities killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities said.
Closer to the border with Lebanon, the town of Shlomi was still empty of its residents on Wednesday, with stores remaining shuttered and traffic remaining light.
Soldiers and checkpoints remained in the area, with the entrances to nearby farming communities still firmly closed.
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