A tense calm took the place of more than a month of bitter fighting between Israel and Hizbullah Monday morning, as a UN-brokered cease-fire went into effect.
Shortly after 8 A.M., several thousand displaced Lebanese started to head for south Lebanon. Hundreds of cars jammed a bomb-ravaged highway leading south from the port city of Sidon. Most roads and bridges to south Lebanon were hit by Israel during the conflict.
Bulldozers scrambled to fill pit holes to create a make-shift dirt road on which cars could drive through and make their way home, Reuters reported.
On its part, the Israeli army said it was keeping its ban on unauthorized traffic in south Lebanon to prevent movement of Hizbullah activists. An Israeli spokesman said anyone found on the road risked attack by Israeli forces.
Lebanese television stations urged people to stay away from any unidentified objects. Al-Jazeera reported one person died and four others injured when an Israeli time bomb exploded in the town of Habboush north of Nabatiyeh. A time bomb also exploded near a car in the village of Maifadoun, wounding two people.
lebanon's Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat urged civilians to stay away from their homes until army engineers could inspect them for unexploded cluster bombs or artillery.
