The deployment of the Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers was a cornerstone
of the cease-fire resolution passed Friday by the UN Security Council. France,
Italy, Turkey and Malaysia have signaled a willingness to contribute troops, but
consultations are still needed to hammer out the force's makeup and mandate.
Officials said Israeli troops would begin pulling out as soon as the Lebanese
and international troops start deploying to the area. But it appeared Israeli
forces were staying put for the moment. Some exhausted soldiers left Lebanon
early Monday, but were being replaced by fresh troops.
Israel also would maintain its air and sea blockade of Lebanon to prevent
arms from reaching Hezbollah guerrillas, army officials said.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave the order Sunday to halt firing as of Monday
morning, his spokesman Asaf Shariv said. However, "if someone fires at us we
will fire back," he added.
Isaac Herzog, a senior minister in the Israeli Cabinet, said it was unlikely
all fighting would be silenced immediately. "Experience teaches us that after
that a process begins of phased relaxation," in the fighting, he said.
Meanwhile, both Hezbollah and Israel claimed they had come out ahead in the
conflict.
Hezbollah distributed leaflets congratulating Lebanon on its "big victory"
and thanking citizens for their patience during the fighting, which began July
12 when guerrillas killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others in a
cross-border raid.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Hezbollah's "state within
a state" had been destroyed, along with its ability to fire at Israeli soldiers
across the border.
Lebanon said nearly 791 people were killed since the fighting began. Israel
said 116 soldiers and 39 civilians were killed in fighting or from Hezbollah
rockets.
In Beirut - where Hezbollah strongholds in southern suburbs came under
relentless Israeli attacks - street life cautiously returned Monday.
Traffic was heavier and some stores reopened.
Thousands of vehicles, meanwhile, crept south along bomb-blasted highways. At
one intersection, traffic was backed up for more than a half mile as police
tried to direct vehicles around bomb craters.
Many parts of southern Lebanon have been virtually deserted for weeks after a
huge wave of residents fled to Beirut and other places to escape the fighting.
It was unclear how Israel would respond to the flood of traffic. Israeli
officials said they would keep travel restrictions in place, which banned all
but humanitarian convoys across much of southern Lebanon to try to choke off
Hezbollah supply lines.
