BEIRUT — Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called on displaced citizens to return to their villages after a cease-fire agreement was announced in Lebanon on Wednesday.

In a televised speech, Berri urged: "Come back to your country, come back to your towns and come back to the places where you were born. Return to your areas and your land — the 'trust of the martyrs' — where their sacrifices grew into victory, restoring glory. Your land will be stronger with your presence. You should return to protect the land that witnessed the blood of all the martyrs."

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Berri emphasized the emotional and symbolic significance of returning, adding, "It is your voice and our voice. It is your memory and our memory. It is your identity and our identity. It is the land of all the martyrs who died, and it will be the land of victory and honor."

Acknowledging the resilience of the Resistance and the critical role played by host communities during the conflict, Berri stated, "Return to your land, turned by the resistance into 'embers that cannot be trampled,' even if living there means residing atop the rubble. We extend our thanks to the environment embracing the displaced, embodying a united face of solidarity that our country desperately needed." 

Reflecting on the implications of the cease-fire, Berri noted, "Our people have succeeded in nullifying the effects of the Israeli aggression, whose fireball stopped today, ushering us into a new phase."

He also highlighted the sacrifices made, declaring, "The precious blood spilled requires safeguarding Lebanon as one, capable of emerging stronger, more resilient, and united."

Berri concluded by stressing the importance of unity, calling this period "the most dangerous for Lebanon, with all its components under threat," and declaring that "the moment of truth for Lebanon's unity has arrived." He also underscored the urgency of swiftly electing a president.

Streams of cars carrying people displaced from southern Lebanon by Israeli strikes in recent months began heading south early on Wednesday after a cease-fire ending hostilities between the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel came into force.

Reuters reporters saw dozens of cars leaving the port city of Saida around 4:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) and heading deeper into southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese Army said on Wednesday it is preparing to deploy to the south of the country after a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect.

The army also asked in a statement that residents of border villages delay returning home until the Israeli military withdraws.