The surprise resurgence of Syria's civil war is shaking the table for the United States, which tried to turn the page years ago on a devastating conflict where it saw few good outcomes.

The latest turmoil in a chaotic region comes less than a couple months before the return of President-elect Donald Trump, whose team could see an unexpected opportunity as part of its bid to reshape the Middle East, albeit with plenty of question marks.

A truce between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered by the United States and France, called for an initial two-month ceasefire in which the militants are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border.

For many Lebanese, the pause in fighting brought relief — but also heartache. Displaced families returned home to sift through the bombed-out ruins of their shops and apartments.

Hours after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to end Israel's war on Lebanon went into effect, Lebanon woke up to the sound of celebratory gunfire instead of Israeli airstrikes and drones buzzing overhead.

It was a rare moment of respite for Lebanon, as bombs stopped falling after a year of war. Thousands of displaced people joyfully drove back to their towns and villages in southern and eastern Lebanon.

The Lebanese civilians most devastated by the Israeli war are Shiite Muslims, and many of them believe they are being unfairly punished because they share a religious identity with Hezbollah militants and often live in the same areas.

"This is clear," said Wael Murtada, a young Shiite man who anxiously watched paramedics search rubble after a recent Israeli airstrike destroyed his uncle's two-story home and killed 10 people. "Who else is being attacked?"

Israel appears to be trying to create a buffer zone in south Lebanon to remove the threat from Hezbollah but its effectiveness in preventing cross-border attacks remains to be seen, observers say.

Stuck in no man's land on the war-hit Lebanon-Syria border, cab driver Fadi Slika now scrapes a living ferrying passengers between two deep craters left by Israeli air strikes.

For more than a year, the United States has steadfastly backed Israel in its Gaza war while quietly counseling restraint. With Donald Trump's return, the nuance will vanish, although his hunger for deal-making makes him less predictable.

When Zarifa Nawfal's family arrived in Beirut for her wounded daughter's surgery, one of the first things she wanted to do was go to the sea. The Mediterranean had been a constant companion at their home in Gaza before the war.

"The moment I smelled the sea, I felt at peace inside — as if I were in Gaza," she said.

Qatar's suspension of its crucial mediation between Israel and Hamas has crushed hopes for a long-stalled truce in the Gaza war and hostage release deal.

The wealthy Gulf country hosts the largest U.S. base in the Middle East and Hamas's political office, and has played a pivotal role in indirect talks since the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees have returned to their country since Israel launched a massive aerial bombardment on wide swathes of Lebanon in September. Many who fled to Lebanon after the war in Syria started in 2011 did not want to go back.

But for officials in Lebanon, the influx of returnees comes as a silver lining to the war between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 3,000 people and displaced some 1.2 million in Lebanon. Some in Syria hope the returning refugees could lead to more international assistance and relief from western sanctions.