A Catholic family's answer to opposing abortion: adopt, foster and vote

SUNBURY, Ohio (AP) — For the Young family in rural Sunbury, Ohio, activism begins at home.

The conservative Catholic family chooses to live their anti-abortion beliefs through adoption, foster-parenting and raising their children to believe in the sanctity of life. They're also committed to teaching their children about political candidates they see as aligned with their beliefs.

The night before this year's presidential election, Erin and Mike Young gathered their children, Lucas, 8, Gianna, 7, and Isaac, 5, around a bonfire near their farmhouse to pray for Donald Trump as “the pro-life candidate.”

A small group from the church they attend joined them for the “Patriotic Rosary.”

Rosaries in hand, they prayed for the nation and its leaders. They prayed for former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. They recited the “Hail Mary” prayer for each state and “every soul living there.”

As the fire dwindled, they sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The next afternoon on Election Day, the three children put on “Future Ohio Voter” stickers. Isaac and Lucas wore their Trump baseball hats. They piled into their dad's truck to go to the polling place. Mom had voted earlier. Around the voting booth, they pressed their faces in close to watch dad vote for Trump.

"Educating our kids why voting for leaders who honor and protect life is very important," said Erin, who homeschools the children. She notes that she and her husband were told one of their children was born after the child's biological mother took abortion medication that did not work.

“They know, and they understand why we voted for Trump. They know that he’s the most pro-life president," she said a little more than a week after the election. "Now that the election has gone our way. We still need to focus on what’s going on in Ohio. Because the power has been given back to the states. We still need to pray, and we still need to fight against the abortion laws in the state itself.”

Ohio voters a year ago approved a constitutional amendment that ensured access to abortion. Trump, who claims credit for his Supreme Court appointees who helped reverse Roe v. Wade, has repeatedly said states should decide the issue.

The Youngs said they are not bothered by Trump's decision to put abortion-rights supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services despite his conflicting stands on abortion. “Abortion is now a state issue, not federal," Mike said.

The family next plans to attend the National March for Life on Jan. 24 in Washington.

Isaac Young, 5, wears his "TRUMP Keep America Great" hat as he holds up the book, "One Vote, Two Votes, I Vote, You Vote of The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library" by Bonnie Worth, illustrated by Aristides Ruiz, and Joe Mathieu, before going to watch his dad, Mike Young, vote for Donald Trump on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Isaac Young, 5, holds up an "Ohio Voted" sticker outside the Trenton Township polling place after watching his dad, Mike Young, vote for Donald Trump on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The Young children from left, Isaac, Lucas, and Gianna, attend the Ohio March for Life with their mom, Erin Young, at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. All three children are adopted. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Mike and Erin Young and their three adopted kids from left, Lucas, 8, Gianna, 7, and Isaac, 5, pose for a family photo outside the Trenton Township polling place after Mike voted for Donald Trump on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Mike Young, joined by his wife Erin Young, left, and their three adopted kids, Gianna, 7, right, Isaac, 5, third from right, and Lucas, 8, second from left, votes for Donald Trump on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, at the Trenton Township building in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Erin and Mike Young drive to the Trenton Township building to vote with their adopted kids, Gianna, 7, Isaac, 5, and Lucas, 8, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Gianna Young, 7, left, Isaac Young, 5, center, and Lucas Young, 8, look at books in the back seat of the truck for the trip to vote with adoptive parents Mike and Erin Young on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Gianna Young, 7, right, and Isaac Young, 5, pose for a photo on their farm before going to vote with adoptive parents Mike and Erin Young on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A "Pray for America" sticker is on the kitchen door of Erin and Mike Young's home in Sunbury, Ohio, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, where they live with their three adopted children, Lucas, 8, Gianna, 7, and Isaac, 5. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Gianna Young, 7, holds a farm cat Coco before gathering with family and members of their Catholic church to pray the "Patriotic Rosary" for the consecration of the nation and Donald Trump around a bonfire at their home, the night before the election, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Gianna Young, 7, feeds the pigs before homeschooling on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Gianna Young, 7, feeds "Mama Pig" as she does farm chores with her brothers, Lucas, 8, right in the red hat, and Isaac, 5, left, before homeschooling on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Gianna Young, 7, reaches for a chicken on a high shelf of the hen house as she does farm chores before homeschooling, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Isaac Young, 5, rests his cheek on the family horse Rusty's forehead during farm chores before homeschooling, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Isaac Young, 5, left, and his big sister Gianna Young, 7, look at her one-year baby book during a homeschool break in their Sunbury, Ohio, home on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The refrigerator is decorated with family photos, prayers, and drawings in the Young's Sunbury, Ohio, kitchen on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The refrigerator is decorated with family photos, prayers, and drawings in the Young's Sunbury, Ohio, kitchen on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A paper cutout of The Last Supper, the last supper of Jesus with the Twelve Apostles, from the Gospel of John, is seen atop the piano in the Young's Sunbury, Ohio, home on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Lucas Young, 8, plays the piano during homeschooling on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Erin Young helps her adopted son Lucas, 8, with a song on the piano during homeschooling on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Gianna Young, 7, looks at her big bother Lucas' one-year baby book during a homeschool break in the dining room of their Sunbury, Ohio, home on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Isaac Young, 5, right, and his big sister Gianna Young, 7, look at his one-year baby book during a homeschool break in the dining room of their Sunbury, Ohio, home on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Gianna Young, 7, works on her letters with the word "religion" during homeschool lessons in the dining room of her Sunbury, Ohio, home on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Erin Young homeschools her adopted children, Isaac, 5, right, and Gianna, 7, left, in the dining room of their Sunbury, Ohio, home on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Erin Young, right, homeschools her adopted sons, Lucas, 8, left, and Isaac, 5, in the dining room of their Sunbury, Ohio, home on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

With hands over their hearts, Erin Young and her three adopted children from left, Isaac, 5, Gianna, 7, and Lucas, 8, say the Pledge of Allegiance as they begin their homeschooling lessons, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Erin Young wears a Holy Spirit T-shirt as she talks with her adopted son Isaac, 5, at home on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Erin Young wears a T-shirt that reads "Social Justice Begins in the Womb" as she works in the kitchen with her adopted son Isaac, 5, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

From left, Gianna Young, holding a sign that reads "We Vote Pro-God Pro-America Pro-Life Pro-Freedom" and her brothers Lucas and Isaac, holding a "Choose Life" sign, march with their mom, Erin Young, during the Ohio March for Life in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. All three children are adopted. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The Young children from left, Gianna, Isaac, and Lucas, attend the Ohio March for Life, with their mom Erin Young, right, at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. All three children are adopted. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Erin Young holds her adopted daughter Gianna Young, 7, as she prays the "Patriotic Rosary" for the consecration of the nation and Donald Trump with family and members of their Catholic church around a bonfire at their home the night before the election, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Long-displaced residents of south Lebanon started returning to their homes hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group took effect early Wednesday morning.

The ceasefire has brought relief across the Mediterranean nation, coming after days of some of the most intense airstrikes and clashes since the war began, though many wondered if the agreement to stop fighting would hold. Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement, which was announced Tuesday.

Thousands of people made their way into southern Lebanon, defying a warning from the Israeli military to stay away from previously evacuated areas.

At least 42 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local authorities. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens in the country’s north.

The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire marks the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but it does not address the devastating war in Gaza.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’ attack. The fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south.

In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

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PARIS — France says it “intends to continue to work in close collaboration” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite the arrest warrant issued for him by the world’s top war-crimes court.

Since the International Criminal Court issued warrants last week, French officials have replied vaguely to questions about whether France would arrest Netanyahu should he visit the country.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier told parliament this week that France would “rigorously” respect its obligations according to international law. The position was echoed by France’s foreign minister in a broadcast interview Wednesday morning.

But in a subsequent statement, the French Foreign Ministry argued that Netanyahu and others affected by the court warrants benefit from immunity because Israel is not a member of the court. It said this would be “taken into consideration if the ICC was to ask us for their arrest and handing over.”

The statement cited “the historic friendship that links France and Israel” and described them as “two democracies committed to the rule of law and respect for professional and independent justice.”

TEL AVIV, Israel — As a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appears to hold in Lebanon, fighting raged on in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 33 bodies had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll in the nearly 14-month-long war to 44,282. The Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says more than half of the dead are women and children.

The Israeli military said it struck dozens of Hamas sites in hard-hit northern Gaza, including weapons storage facilities and military structures. It said it warned civilians to evacuate the area beforehand. The military has battled for weeks a resurgence of Hamas in the area, which was an early target of Israel’s offensive.

The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire has no direct bearing on the conflict in Gaza, where international mediators have struggled to secure a truce.

JERUSALEM — An Israeli security official says Israeli forces remain in their positions hours after a ceasefire took place and will only gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon.

The official, speaking Wednesday on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules, would not say when troops would begin the withdrawal but said it would be completed during the 60-day period laid out in the ceasefire agreement.

He said the pace of the withdrawal and the scheduled return of Lebanese civilians to their homes would depend on whether the deal is implemented and enforced by all sides.

“We need to see the mechanism is working,” he said. “It’s a gradual agreement. It’s a gradual withdrawal.”

The official said Israeli soldiers were responding to an immediate threat when they opened fire earlier Wednesday at several vehicles approaching a restricted area in Lebanon. There were no reports on casualties. The official said that Israel was prepared to do so again if troops were at risk.

“We will fire when our forces are threatened,” he said. He said non-immediate threats would be reported to the international monitoring committee, but that if no action is taken, “we will enforce it.”

— By Josef Federman

CAIRO — Hamas says it’s ready to cooperate with any effort to bring about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah reached a truce to end months of fighting.

The deal does not address the war in Gaza. International mediators have repeatedly failed to bring Israel and Hamas to a deal that would end the brutal, 13-month-long war.

In a statement, Hamas repeated it would seek the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the return of displaced Palestinians and a “real and complete prisoner exchange deal.”

Israel has refused to commit to ending the war under any ceasefire deal and some members of the Israeli government have balked over freeing large number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the roughly 100 hostages still held by militants in Gaza.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday he hoped for a renewed international push for negotiations in coming days.

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s caretaker government on Wednesday approved a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the militant Hezbollah group and Israel.

The move was largely a formality but also signaled the government’s commitment to its part in the deal, including deploying Lebanese soldiers along the border with Israel and cooperating with United Nations peacekeepers.

“Today is a new day, where we hope it carries with it peace and stability,” caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement following the morning meeting.

The agreement is an implementation plan for U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 to end the last Israel-Hezbollah war but never was fully carried out. Its goal was for the Lebanese military to be the exclusive armed presence in southern Lebanon alongside U.N. peacekeepers, and for Hezbollah and Israeli forces to withdraw from the area.

According to a copy of the ceasefire agreement provided by the Lebanese government, the Lebanese military would gradually deploy in the south and dismantle unauthorized military infrastructure and weapons production facilities.

The United States and France, in addition to UNIFIL peacekeepers, will monitor violations and support the process.

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed relief over the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire and called on both sides to stick to the agreement.

“Finally, Hezbollah and Israel have agreed on a ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered by our partners USA and France,” Scholz wrote Wednesday on X.

“It is important that everyone sticks to what has been agreed, so that people on both sides of the border can live in safety again.”

Germany is a staunch ally of Israel, but at the same time home to a Lebanese immigrant community of more than 100,000.

BEIRUT — The speaker of Lebanon’s parliament called for another effort to fill the country’s long-vacant presidency just hours after a ceasefire to halt hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect.

Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, as its deeply divided parliament has been unable to elect a new head of state. The last effort to elect a president was more than a year ago.

Speaker Nabih Berri called for political parties to come together to elect a president “who unites rather than divides.”

“I call upon you because a moment of truth in which we must unite for the sake of Lebanon has arrived,” Berri said in a televised address.

“This is a test for how we can save Lebanon. How we can build it and how we can bring back life for its constitutional institutions.”

The war compounded Lebanon’s economic troubles and worsened tensions between political groups allied and opposed to Hezbollah.

Berri spearheaded Lebanon’s negotiation efforts for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah. He’s a top Shiite politician and a key ally of Hezbollah.

BAGHDAD — One of the most powerful Iran-backed factions in Iraq said it would continue its operations in support of Gaza despite the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

Iraqi militias have repeatedly launched attacks on Israel from Iraq in the nearly 14 months since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.

In a statement, the Kataib Hezbollah group said that the ceasefire would not have been possible without the “resilience of Hezbollah fighters and the failure of the Zionists to achieve their objectives, making the decision solely Lebanese.”

The group said that a pause by one member of the so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes Iran-backed groups from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, would not undermine the broader “unity of fronts” strategy.

The militia also said the U.S. had been Israel’s partner “in all acts of betrayal, killing, destruction and displacement,” and said it “will eventually have to pay for its actions.”

TYRE, Lebanon — Mohammed Kaafarani has lived through multiple conflicts with Israel. But he says the past two months were the worst of them all.

“They were a nasty and ugly 60 days,” said Kaafarani, 59, who was displaced from the Lebanese village of Bidias, near the southern port city of Tyre.

Thousands of displaced people poured into the city Wednesday after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect.

Kaafarani said the latest war was the most difficult because the bombardment was so intense. “We reached a point where there was no place to hide. Even buildings were destroyed.”

He said Tyre was left almost empty as most of its residents fled.

Kaafarani said he hopes his children and grandchildren will have a better future without wars because “our generation suffered and is still suffering.”

“The last two months were way too long,” said Kaafarani, whose home was badly damaged in the fighting. He vowed to fix it and continue on with life.

HAIFA, Israel — Some people in Israel who have been displaced by fighting with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah say the ceasefire deal doesn’t make them feel secure enough to go home.

Some 50,000 people have been displaced from a string of cities, towns and villages along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Those communities have been pummeled by Hezbollah rocket and drone fire for 13 months, with dozens of houses damaged and in need of rebuilding or rehabilitation.

Noy Friedman, who was displaced from the town of Shlomi to the city of Haifa, said she wouldn’t feel safe in her hometown.

“I am also not ready for my family to return to Shlomi,” said Friedman.

Many displaced Israelis have been living in hotels since the fighting began in Oct. 2023 or have tried to reestablish their lives in new areas far from the fighting.

Returning could take months because of the damage caused to the communities, but also because of the fears many of the displaced still feel.

On a cold, rainy Wednesday morning, the hard-hit Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona was quiet. A handful of people milled about, inspecting damage from rocket attacks, including to the roof of a bus.

The town’s shopping mall, which had been hit before, appeared to have new damage. A rocket was seen stuck in the ground next to an apartment building.

“I am against the ceasefire,” said Eliyahu Maman, a Kiryat Shmona resident displaced to Haifa who feared Hezbollah could still attack from southern Lebanon. “I am not ready to return to Kiryat Shmona.”

AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan on Wednesday welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying it should be followed by an international effort to wind down the war in Gaza.

In a statement, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the ceasefire “an important step.” But it said “Israeli aggression on Gaza” must be stopped.

Jordan expressed support for Lebanon and stressed the importance of fully implementing the ceasefire.

Jordan is a close Western ally that made peace with Israel in 1994. But Israel’s devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, has strained relations. The country has a large Palestinian population which has demonstrated regularly against the war in Gaza.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Palestinians said Wednesday they hoped there would be a ceasefire in Gaza now that Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a truce.

But some feared that Israel would be more heavy handed with Gaza now that its forces were freed up from the fighting against Hezbollah.

“The situation will be worse, because the pressure will be more on Gaza,” said Mamdouh Yonis, a man currently living in Khan Younis after being displaced from the southern city of Rafah, told The Associated Press.

Palestinians in Gaza are desperately waiting for a ceasefire agreement that would end the war between Hamas and Israel. It’s already killed over 44,000 people according to local authorities, who don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

The war was sparked when Hamas raided southern Israel in Oct. 2023, killing 1,200 and kidnapping 250, about 100 of whom remain in Gaza.

International mediation efforts meant to clinch a deal have faltered repeatedly, and the war is now in its 14th month with no end in sight.

“They agree to a ceasefire in one place and not in the other? Have mercy on the children, the elderly and the women. We are sitting in tents and now it is winter,” said Ahlam Abu Shalabi, a woman displaced from Gaza City.

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey welcomed the ceasefire reached between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, expressing hope that it would lead to a lasting truce.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also called on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to force it to “strictly comply with the ceasefire and compensate for the damage it has caused in Lebanon.”

The ministry also urged the establishment of “permanent and comprehensive” ceasefire in Gaza, calling on Israel to “end its aggressive policies.”

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said Wednesday that its forces opened fire in Lebanon on a number of cars that approached an area it said was restricted, as a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to take hold.

The military said the vehicles drove away. It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries as a result.

The Israeli military has warned residents of previously evacuated areas of Lebanon that had been evacuated, but displaced people have been streaming south to their homes.

The military said soldiers remained in position in southern Lebanon and that the air force was ready to act if needed. It said Israel’s aerial defense array was also at the ready for any ceasefire violations.

PARIS — France’s foreign minister underlined his country’s role in brokering an agreement that ended fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group alongside the U.S., saying the deal wouldn’t have been possible without France’s special relationship with its former protectorate.

“It’s a success for French diplomacy and we can be proud,” said the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking hours after the ceasefire went into effect Wednesday.

“It is true that the United States have a privileged relationship with Israel. But with Lebanon, it’s France that has very old ties, very close ties,” the minister added. “It would not have been possible to envisage a ceasefire in Lebanon without France being involved on the front line.”

France will be involved in monitoring the ceasefire, Barrot noted, with 700 French soldiers deployed as part of the 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, that has been patrolling the border area between Lebanon and Israel for nearly 50 years.

The minister said France will also work to strengthen Lebanese troops that will deploy in the south of the country as part of the ceasefire, although he didn’t specify what that might include.

BEIRUT — The Lebanese military asked displaced people returning to southern Lebanon to avoid frontline villages and towns near the border where the Israeli military is still present until the troops withdraw.

Thousands of people have been returning to other previously evacuated areas in south Lebanon in defiance of an Israeli warning to avoid all previously evacuated areas. Many of those areas were hit by strikes just hours before the ceasefire took effect.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Tehran's main militant partner in the Mideast.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei praised the ceasefire in a statement Wednesday morning.

Baghaei said that Iran still sought a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. But like Hezbollah, it's dropped the demand that a ceasefire also take place at the same time in the Gaza Strip.

He also called for the International Criminal Court to try the “criminals of the occupying regime,” referring to Israel. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s former defense minister.

TYRE, Lebanon — Displaced people started returning to the coastal city of Tyre on motorcycles and in cars early Wednesday, defying an Israeli military warning to stay away from previously evacuated areas.

Ahmad Husseini said returning to southern Lebanon was an “indescribable feeling” and praised Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, who led Lebanon’s negotiations with Washington. “He made us and everyone proud.”

Husseini, who earlier fled a town near the coastal city, spoke to The Associated Press while in his car with family members.

Meanwhile, sporadic celebratory gunfire could be heard at a main roundabout in the city, as people returning honked the horns of cars — some piled with mattresses — and residents cheered.

A couple of men shouted slogans praising slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.

Hussein Sweidan said he sees the ceasefire as a victory for Hezbollah. “This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shia sect, and for all of Lebanon,” he said.

BEIRUT — As dawn broke in Beirut, plumes of smoke were visible rising from places hit by Israeli strikes before the ceasefire took effect at 4 a.m. Residents of Lebanon’s capital and its southern suburbs endured the most intense day of strikes since the war began on Tuesday.

BEIRUT — As the ceasefire went into effect early Wednesday, much of Lebanon was quiet for the first time since late September, following weeks of intense overnight strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon.

Some celebratory gunshots could be heard in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, battered over the past two months.

Israel’s Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee has warned displaced Lebanese not to return to their villages in southern Lebanon, but some videos circulating on social media show displaced Lebanese defying these calls and returning to villages in the south near the coastal city of Tyre.

Israeli troops are still present in parts of southern Lebanon after Israel launched a ground invasion in October.

Lebanese have also been displaced from other parts of the country, notably the southern Beirut suburbs and the eastern Bekaa province. It’s unclear how long it will take cash-strapped Lebanon to rebuild these bombarded neighborhoods.

The war has displaced some 1.2 million people, according to the Lebanese government.

JERUSALEM — As the ceasefire took effect early Wednesday, Israel’s military warned people with homes in areas of south Lebanon that it ordered evacuated to stay away for now.

Israeli military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued the warning on the social platform X.

“You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area,” Adraee wrote, using an acronym for the Israeli military. “For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area.”

There were no immediate signs of renewed fighting as the ceasefire took hold early Wednesday morning.

The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants has begun as a region on edge wonders whether it will hold.

The ceasefire announced Tuesday is a major step toward ending nearly 14 months of fighting sparked by the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement.

The ceasefire calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. An international panel led by the United States will monitor compliance.

The ceasefire began at 4 a.m. Wednesday, a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the start of the conflict that in recent weeks turned into all-out war.

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Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Rescuers use an excavator as they search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man runs next to an ambulance arriving at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Rescuers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A woman waves a Hezbollah flag as she celebrates a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Lebanese family returns back to their village with their belongings after a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People in their cars with belongings return back to their villages after a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

In this image made from video, smoke is seen amid buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo)

A Civil Defense worker distributes safety fliers to people returning back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People hug each other upon their arrival at their building after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man who is returning to his village waves as he carries his belongings on his car after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)