TIRE – THE ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah Hope for normalcy was brought back to many people in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who have long launched their single-engine wooden boats into the Mediterranean at dawn.

During the last two months of his year of struggle against HezbollahIsrael imposed a siege on southern Lebanon that kept hundreds of fishermen from this ancient Phoenician port ashore, upending their lives and that of their industry.

Although less significant than the destruction and displacement, the port siege cut many people off from key ingredients in traditional Lebanese dishes like sayadiyeh – fish and rice boiled in fish sauce – or fried and grilled fish eaten with dips like hummus and tabbouleh or fattoush salads. .

The loss of fish has damaged a deep connection to the country, but the possibility of a resumption of Lebanese fishing on the country’s southern coast is helping to fuel hope for a better future.

On Friday, a few boats came out near the shore while port fishermen worked on the nets of small boats painted white, blue or red.

Hussein Sukmani, 55, said Friday he was considering going to sea in the coming days but was waiting to see how things developed.

He has not dared to go to sea since the war between Israel and Hezbollah dramatically intensified on September 23. “Those were days of fear and horror,” he said. “Those were the hardest days of our lives.”

A week ago, a drone strike killed two young fishermen in the town as they prepared their nets on the coast, and some fishermen said Friday that the Lebanese army had told them that if they left, it would be would be at their own risk.

Among those who sailed close to the coast on Friday was Walid Darwish, who returned to port with two plastic crates filled with mullet.

“Today is the first time we are sailing,” Darwish said, adding that fishermen missed the peak season of October and November.

“We lost him,” he said.

The Israeli army barred all boats from accessing an area 50 kilometers from the border in October and did not say whether the warning was still in effect.

Sukmani said most of the 700 fishermen who work on the port’s 270 boats have not sailed since, out of fear.

The area around the port is a predominantly Christian neighborhood that has been spared most of the airstrikes on other parts of Tire that destroyed buildings in that city.

In peacetime, the port is a major tourist attraction, popular with Lebanese and foreigners who come for the views, restaurants and beaches.

On Friday, Mohammed Hammoud walked along the coast of Tire with his fishing rod.

“All it takes is for someone to be able to stand in this beautiful area,” he said, pointing to the white sand. “Fishing is everything to me,” added Hammoud, who went fishing several times in the area north of the city of Sidon that was not part of the siege.

In the old market of Tyre, Gilbert Spiridon watched from his shop as people came to buy freshly brought fish. Before the war, it took him hours to sell all his fish to people all over Lebanon.

“All I want is for the war to end and for us to return to the good old days,” he said.