One year into a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon residents have returned to the heavily fortified border town of Metula but say they are struggling to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Metula residents were among the 64,000 forced to evacuate and relocate to hotels and temporary homes farther south when Hezbollah began firing rockets over the border into Israel in fall 2023.

Months of fighting escalated into a full-fledged war.

In September 2024, Israel killed 12 and wounded over 3,000 in a coordinated pager attack and killed Hezbollah's leader in a strike.

A month later, the ceasefire deal was reached.

Today, residents have trickled back to the sprawling apple orchards and mountains as Israel’s government encourages them to go home. Officials say about 55,000 people have returned.

In Metula, just over half of the 1,700 residents are back. Yet the streets remain largely empty.

Many hoped to rebuild their lives, but they returned to find 60% of the town’s homes damaged from rocket fire, according to the local government.

Others were infested and destroyed by rats. The economy — largely based on tourism and agriculture — has been devastated.

"Now we're thinking maybe it's not good for us to stay here," said Levav Weinberg, a farmer in the town.

"We have some friends that come back to Metula and left and they're very happy with the fact that they left because they don't need to... their kids don't need to challenge with the same kind of issues that we need to challenge with."

Israel’s government says it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in border recovery efforts, that it plans to invest more in economic revival, and that residents can apply for support funds.

Metula’s government continues to encourage people to come back, telling residents the region is safe and the economy will bounce back.

"The rehabilitation will be slow, a lot of patience and tolerance is needed," said Avi Nadiv, Metula's deputy mayor.

"We believe that within a year we will succeed in restoring the community to a proper and safe condition."

As Hezbollah refuses to disarm, Israel has accused Lebanon’s government of not doing enough to neutralize the militant group.

The Lebanese army says it has boosted its presence over the border area to strengthen the ceasefire.

Israel continues to bombard what it says are Hezbollah sites.

Much of southern Lebanon has been left in ruins.