A cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by the U.S. and France took effect in Lebanon early Wednesday, raising hopes of ending more than a year of cross-border strikes and a full-scale war that has killed thousands.

Residents of southern Lebanon and northern Israel began to return to their homes Wednesday as a U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah took effect. From early Wednesday morning the skies were quiet for the first time in more than a year.

A ceasefire deal that went into effect on Wednesday could end more than a year of cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, raising hopes and renewing difficult questions in a region gripped by conflict.