The cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah brokered this week pulls the Middle East back from the brink of all-out war. But the deal also carries the risk of putting Israel and Iran closer to a more dangerous direct confrontation.

For most of the people of Lebanon, a ceasefire could not come quickly enough. A leading Lebanese analyst at a conference on the Middle East that I’m attending in Rome said she couldn’t sleep as the appointed hour for the ceasefire came closer. “It was like the night before Christmas when you’re a kid. I couldn’t wait for it to happen.”

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