MIDDLE EAST

NPR -  A ceasefire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon went into effect. It aims to end the fighting across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the war in Gaza last year. The U.S. and France helped to facilitate the deal, which President Biden announced yesterday. Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese army and state security forces will take control of their territory while Israel gradually withdraws. The mood is festive in Beirut, NPR’s Lauren Frayer tells Up First. Celebratory gunfire, calls to prayer and howling dogs woke her up at 4 a.m., when the deal officially started. Though many there are celebrating, Frayer says they might find they no longer have homes standing. A third of Lebanon and tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced. Israel is not yet calling on its residents to return to their abandoned homes in the north. Officials say there will be a one to two-month period of rebuilding before that happens.