Israel begins giving positions to U.N.

Children pictured in the back of a car flying a Hezbollah flag just meters from the Israel-Lebanon border. The White House said that it would ultimately be up to the Lebanese government, with UN backing, to make sure that Hezbollah is disarmed and that the process would "take some time."(AFP/Denis Sinyakov)

August 17, 2006

By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon - The Israeli army began handing over positions to the U.N. early Thursday, stepping up its withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Hours later Lebanon's army moved south and began deploying below the Litani River, a senior military official said.

The rapid developments aimed at ending 34 days of fighting came after Lebanon's government agreed to deploy troops near Israel's border for the first time in 40 years.

A senior official in the Lebanese army told The Associated Press around dawn Thursday that Lebanese troops, backed by tanks and other armored vehicles, had begun arriving south of the river in line with the U.N. cease-fire plan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss troop movements.

An Associated Press reporter saw about 40 military trucks and jeeps, carrying soldiers, equipment, luggage and plastic water tanks, heading to south Lebanon at around 4 a.m. The trucks and jeeps hoisted Lebanese flags as they drove into central Beirut on their way to south Lebanon.