The ceasefire largely holds, but Israelis near the Lebanese border have their doubts.

Israel says its forces have fired artillery and carried out airstrikes on targets in southern Lebanon on the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah for more than a year.

The Israeli military said it opened fire on the suspects after seeing Hezbollah weapons installations and vehicle activity in several areas violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Lebanon accused Israel of violating the agreement “many times” and said it was monitoring the situation.

Despite the fraying around the edges, the ceasefire appears largely intact so far, and the Israeli military road leading to the northern end of the Lebanese border has been dormant for months. Through the open gates of the bases, soldiers carried out routine maintenance, stick figures on lines of tanks, etched against the late afternoon sky.

A captain who flew out of Lebanon this morning told me that he and his team are happy to be out of the fighting and back to their lives – but that they all hope they’ve done enough.

“If not, we all think we’ll find ourselves here soon,” he said.

“Personally, I think there is still work to be done. It is clear that Hezbollah is still strong enough to threaten Israel.

Israel’s leaders are signaling their confidence to the public – lifting daily restrictions in some areas, and removing bomb walls and makeshift shelters from border roads.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has also vowed a “tough fight” if Hezbollah violates the ceasefire.

There is vocal support from Washington to use the ceasefire as a springboard for a broader regional ceasefire. And Hamas has reportedly signaled a willingness to talk about a deal along similar lines.

But there are many voices here in the North who say a ceasefire with Hezbollah is a mistake, even “laying down arms.”

One of them is Michael Kabesa, the mayor of the northern community of Hatzor Higlit.

“This is more of a surrender agreement than a cease-fire,” he told me. “We didn’t finish the job, we stopped at 70% – so they’ll grow, recover their abilities, and we’ll meet again in another 20 years.”

The focus on this side of the border is when and how residents can begin to return to communities that were evacuated nearly 14 months ago at the start of the war.

“We need a very secure parameter,” Mayor Kabisa told me. “We need to see the army on the border in a big way, that will give us confidence.”

Israeli forces are to gradually hand over control of southern Lebanon to the Lebanese army over the next two months, supported by UNIFIL and overseen by US and French forces.

“The Americans and the French are a really good addition,” Mr. Cabesa said, “but we know that no power, no international power, can enforce the situation.” We need to take care of ourselves – that’s the biggest lesson since October 7.

The October 7 attacks on Israel last year – carried out by Hamas, the Palestinian armed group allied to Hezbollah in Gaza – have changed social and political life here.

Mayor Kabisa was among the first Israeli soldiers to help clear destroyed kibbutzim around the Gaza border in the early days of the invasion.

He said what he saw after the attack by Hamas changed his perception of security in the north.

But there are some in these northern communities that have refused to evacuate during the nearly 14-month war, living in abandoned towns that were regularly hit by Hezbollah rockets and missiles.

Chris Cowell, originally from Edinburgh, is one of only four residents left in his apartment complex in Kiryat Shmona.

All the windows in his block – and the windows of buildings 200 meters around it – were blown out after a missile hit the street outside several months ago.

Rockets and missiles land here several times a day – sometimes several times an hour.

Before Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon to push back Hezbollah positions, Chris had four seconds to get to the safe room – not enough, so he just lay on the kitchen floor. , used the refrigerator door as a shield.

“We need a ceasefire,” he told me. “If it persists for a month, we can have some hope.”

For the past year, Kiryat Shmona has been a ghostly void, pockmarked by rockets, where lone soldiers buy off-duty supplies from the few shops still open.

But Chris says the ceasefire will bring the city back to life.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people who have said they’ll be back,” he said. “It will take a month or two, but they will come back.”

An army captain I met on my way out of Lebanon today said he thinks the troops have given Israel an opportunity to pause and review the operation.

“I think it’s a good time to give it a chance,” he said. “I hope that politicians will make the best of it – and also know when to stop accepting what the other side is doing, and react.”