Life in Tyre struggles to come back as fragile ceasefire keeps some people away

Wandering in the streets surrounding the market of Tyre, some sellers opened their shops on Tuesday (April 28), as residents try to go back to their daily lives during a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

The continuing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have deepened a sense of despair among many Lebanese, with many scared to go back to their hometown in the south.

Reflecting on life in the city, shop owners and passers-by said the city is empty compared to before hostilities reignited.

The second most populated city in southern Lebanon up to the 2024 conflict, Tyre has seen its streets and houses emptied. Since then, many residents remained hesitant to return, deterred by ongoing insecurity and repeated Israeli strikes.

Despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Israel has continued striking Lebanon and its troops are occupying a strip of the south, destroying homes they describe as Hezbollah infrastructure.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, has kept up attacks against Israeli troops in Lebanon and on northern Israel.

Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of breaching the ceasefire, which was signed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments but not specifically by Hezbollah.

-Production: Haider Kadhim Nour, Chiara Rodriquez/Reuters