People in southern Lebanon who fled last month have rushed home to inspect damage during the temporary truce in the conflict between Israel and Hamas that they hope will end the worst border clashes in nearly 20 years, Reuters reports.

Some 200 km (124 miles) from the Gaza Strip in southern Lebanon, people in areas scarred by Israeli shelling were grateful that they had been able to return home since Friday when the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect.

“We are very happy to have returned to the village,” Mbadda Salloum, a resident from the village of Yaroun, said outside a church damaged in the recent hostilities.

He had fled north with his family to the capital, Beirut. “We wish for this truce to be permanent, God willing.”Many families are using the pause in fighting to collect belongings from their homes and survey damage. Schools and most shops are shut.

About 55,500 people across southern Lebanon had fled their homes as of Nov. 21, according to the United Nations. Many also fled their homes in northern Israel.

“They have missed their homes and their lands,” said Kassem Jaber, mayor of the village of Mhaibib. People had been waiting on the village outskirts till just after 7 am last Friday when the truce took effect, he said, then rushed back to their homes.