Amid celebratory gunfire, residents who fled Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold start returning after truce takes effect

Tracer rounds illuminate the night sky as people fire live ammunition and fireworks into the air following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, early April 17, 2026. (AP/Hassan Ammar)
Tracer rounds illuminate the night sky as people fire live ammunition and fireworks into the air following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, early April 17, 2026. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

Gunfire erupted in Beirut’s southern suburbs after a ceasefire with Israel came into effect at midnight, according to AFP journalists and AFPTV footage.

State media also reports “heavy gunfire” accompanying the start of the 10-day truce, announced earlier by US President Donald Trump.

AFP journalists heard shots ring out and RPGs erupting into the air shortly after midnight and continuing for well over half an hour, as red bullet traces took off into the sky.

AFPTV footage shows people returning to the city’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, some waving the Iran-backed terror movement’s yellow flag or carrying portraits of its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed by Israel in 2024.

Videos circulating on social media show lines of cars in several areas in the south as displaced residents return to their homes.

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