A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect at 4am local time in Lebanon (02:00 GMT) amid hopes the truce will bring a permanent end to Israeli attacks on Lebanese towns and cities and more than a year of fighting in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

    US President Joe Biden says the deal between Israel and Hezbollah involves Israeli forces withdrawing from Lebanon over 60 days, with Lebanon’s military taking control of territory in the south of the country to ensure Hezbollah does not rebuild forces.

    Al Jazeera’s correspondent in southern Lebanon Ali Hashem said Lebanese people are watching to see if the ceasefire is “going to hold, or not” and whether the war has truly “come to an end”.

    Israeli attacks have killed dozens in Gaza, including 13 people sheltering in a school in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood.

    Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 44,249 Palestinians and wounded 104,746 others since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day, and more than 200 were taken captive.

    In Lebanon, at least 3,823 people have been killed and 15,859 wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began.

    UN says all attempts to reach besieged north Gaza this month blocked

    The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, says the UN has been able to reach people in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, in the north of the Gaza Strip, as it continues to face denials from Israeli authorities.

    “Between 1 and 25 November, the UN attempted to reach these besieged areas 41 times,” OCHA said in its latest update.

    “Thirty-seven of these attempts were outright denied, while four were initially approved, but then severely impeded on the ground such that the assistance could not be delivered to people trapped in the besieged area,” OCHA said.

    “Coordinated aid missions to areas in Rafah governorate, where there has been an ongoing Israeli military operation since early May, have faced similar challenges.”

    Vehicles head towards southern Lebanon after start of ceasefire: Report

    Reuters news agency has reported that streams of cars carrying people displaced from southern Lebanon by Israeli air strikes have begun to travel south after the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

    Reporters with the news agency saw dozens of cars leaving the port city of Sidon, located south of Beirut, at around 4:00 am local time (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday and heading deeper into southern Lebanon.

    Shortly after the ceasefire took effect, Israel’s military warned displaced residents of southern Lebanon not to return to their homes.

    In a post on social media, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee warned that people are “prohibited from heading towards the villages that the [Israel’s military] has ordered to be evacuated”, or moving towards areas where Israeli soldiers are deployed.

    The spokesman said only that Lebanese people will be told when it is “safe to return home”.

    “For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area,” he said.

    As details of truce remain obscure, the enormous cost of this war is clear

    Reporting from Amman, Jordan and Nour Odeh

    Al Jazeera is reporting from Amman, Jordan, because it has been banned in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

    This is sure to be a tenuous truce implemented over 60 days.

    In that period, the Israeli army would withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese Army would deploy in their stead.

    Hezbollah would have to withdraw north of the Litani River.

    UNIFIL, the UN observer forces, will monitor implementation, along with France and the United States.

    It’s not clear how these redeployments will happen, or how the tens of thousands of displaced Lebanese and Israelis would return to their destroyed communities.

    Much of the details remain deliberately obscure.

    What is clear is the enormous cost of this war.

    The Israeli army has devastated entire areas of southern Lebanon and caused widespread destruction across the country. Some estimates put the cost of recovery at nearly $10bn.

    In northern Israel, some communities have also been badly damaged. Local authorities say they will need hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild.

    Israel and Hezbollah are claiming victory, even though they’re both bruised.

    Netanyahu has promised to change the political and security landscape in the region.

    Hezbollah dropped its pledge to tie a ceasefire in Lebanon with Gaza. A ceasefire there can’t come soon enough.