Displaced Lebanese are returning to their homes in Froun, Srifa and Zawtar Al-Gharbiya in the south of the country as the Lebanese army deploys its forces to so-called 'pilot zones' vacated by withdrawing Israeli forces.
The pilot-zone operations began Monday in three villages in southern Lebanon under a U.S.-brokered framework among the United States, Israel and Lebanon, the U.S. State Department said.
Security in Froun, Srifa and Zawtar Al-Gharbiya is now the responsibility of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, which was established to help implement the framework.
In Froun, butcher Ali Shehadeh has reopened his business in a small shop which he has rented after his original shop was destroyed in fighting.
The move is a cautious step toward normalcy in a community still shadowed by Israeli violations of a shaky ceasefire.
"We, the villagers, have returned, and residents have begun reopening their businesses. My butcher shop was completely destroyed. I rebuilt it from scratch despite all the pain we're going through. We pulled all the equipment out from the rubble. We have to get back on our feet," said Shehadeh.
In neighboring Srifa, residents are also struggling to restore daily routines.
"Praise be to God, Srifa is fine now. There is nothing wrong with it, but there are strikes in the surrounding areas and we can hear them. There are people there. As you can see, we've been working for over a month. It's not as people say. We're the ones who bring the place back to life," said Mohamad Anbar, a local bakery owner.
Since the ceasefire, Srifa has remained peaceful, but the extensive damage to the town is still preventing life from fully returning to normal.
"We affirm that in Srifa yesterday, the day before yesterday, and when we returned on June 16, there was no enemy occupation. The Lebanese Army has been present in the village for a year. It was subjected to a brutal attack, and the destruction was extensive, affecting infrastructure, homes and businesses, which form the backbone of the village's economy," said Mohammed Nazzal, head of the Municipality of Srifa.
Displaced Lebanese return to homes in south as army deploys in 'pilot zones' following Israeli withdrawal
Zhao Leji, chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, held talks with Tomio Okamura, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, in Beijing on Thursday.
Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Czech strategic partnership, Zhao, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China stands ready to work with the Czech side to carry forward traditional friendship, enhance mutual understanding and trust, strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and promote the sound and steady growth of bilateral relations.
Zhao called on both sides to consolidate the political foundation of their ties, sustain the momentum of improvement in bilateral relations, and resume and step up exchanges and interactions at all levels and across all fields.
Both sides should further tap cooperation potential, give full play to the role of mechanisms such as the economic joint committee between China and Czech and the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo, explore ways to strengthen cooperation in new energy, electric vehicles and other fields, and support enterprises of the two countries in expanding investment cooperation, Zhao added.
The NPC is ready to enhance friendly exchanges with the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, carry out mutual learning and exchanges on legislative supervision, economic development, improvement of people's livelihood, formulate, revise and ratify legal documents conducive to bilateral cooperation, and maintain close communication and collaboration within multilateral mechanisms such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Zhao said.
Zhao also said China is willing to work with all countries, including the Czech Republic, to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and promote the establishment of a fair and equitable global governance system for AI.
Okamura said the Czech Republic adheres to the one-China policy, adding that it hopes to strengthen tourism cooperation with China and welcome more Chinese tourists to visit the Czech Republic, expand cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, cultural relic exhibitions, and direct flights, and enhance people-to-people exchanges.
The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic stands ready to strengthen friendly exchanges with China's NPC and enhance the friendship between the two peoples, Okamura added.
China's top legislator holds talks with speaker of Czech Chamber of Deputies
