Early in the morning they packed what they could – bags of clothes, blankets and mattresses – and headed south.
Families forced to flee because of the war did not wait to see whether the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would hold.
Just hours after it came into effect, they drove back home via the main road from Beirut.
Some waved Hezbollah’s yellow-green flag, while others carried posters with images of the group’s former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike two months ago.
For many, this was a moment of celebration.
“What happened is very good. This is a victory for the resistance,” Abu Ali said, referring to the ceasefire brokered by the US and France.
“May God have mercy on our martyrs. The resistance is a source of honor and pride for us. Without its existence there would be no homeland, no south, nothing.”
His plan was to return to the village of Houla, right next to the border. But Israeli forces were still there, he said.
“We don’t know if our house is still standing or destroyed,” Ali said. “But we’re going there.”
The 60-day ceasefire will lead to the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters and weapons from southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese army said it was already beefing up its presence there as part of the deployment of another 5,000 soldiers under the deal. Both Israel and Hezbollah have said they are ready to respond to any violations.
The ceasefire is the main hope for ending more than a year of conflict, which intensified in September with widespread Israeli airstrikes, killings of top Hezbollah officials and a ground invasion.
Israel’s goal was to remove the group from the border and stop attacks on northern communities.
In Lebanon, more than a million people were displaced, mainly from Shiite Muslim areas in the south, the eastern Bekka Valley and Dahieh in Beirut – essentially controlled by Hezbollah, the powerful militia and political party backed by Iran.
They began returning despite warnings from Israeli and Lebanese authorities that it was not yet safe to do so.
“It doesn’t matter whether the house is still intact or not, the most important thing is that we return, thanks to the blood of our martyr, Nasrallah,” said Fatma Balhas, who was traveling to the city of Seddiqine.
Hezbollah-allied media also said this was a sign the group had won the war.
At Sidon, the first major city on the coast south of Beirut, cars drove in the opposite lane as a traffic jam formed just outside a military checkpoint.
Soldiers handed out leaflets telling people not to touch unexploded ordnance. “Don’t come near it, don’t touch it, report it immediately.”
As night fell on Wednesday, the ceasefire appeared to be holding, with UN chief Antonio Guterres describing it as the “first glimmer of hope for peace amid the darkness of recent months”.
The war has devastated this country and the recovery will be long and difficult. And it is not clear what will happen to Hezbollah. The group has become smaller, but still enjoys significant support.
For Lebanon, this means that this crisis is not over yet.
