Lebanon awoke to a ceasefire on Wednesday as Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia halted fighting, with displaced residents returning home despite warnings that a new outbreak of violence could erupt from any breaches of the agreement.

A ceasefire deal that could end more than a year of cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group won backing from Israeli leaders.

The agreement with Lebanon will maintain Israel's freedom of operation there to act in defence to remove threats posed by Hezbollah and enable displaced residents to return safely to their homes in northern Israel, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told Reuters.