Italian peacekeepers, armor pour into Lebanon

Italians cheered
An AP photographer saw a few children cheering or waving Italian flags as the long convoy of soldiers made its way to a base in Kalaway, near the southern port city of Tyre.

About 860 troops have arrived, the Italian Defense Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the troops would not be further deployed until later this week.

The French army said that about 200 troops and 100 vehicles loading onto ships along France’s Mediterranean coast and would reach Lebanon by the end of the week.

The Italians will bring the total number of U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon to 3,250 — including the 2,000 UNIFIL troops who were already in place and 250 French soldiers who arrived last week.

General: Israel violating ‘fragile’ truce
Israel raced to destroy Hezbollah arms caches ahead of its impending withdrawal.

French Gen. Alain Pellegrini, who commands UNIFIL, confirmed Israel has been destroying Hezbollah arms in territories it still occupies in the south. The Israeli military said it had demolished an unspecified number of Hezbollah bunkers.

Pellegrini said such actions violated the truce, as do reconnaissance missions by Israeli jets and drones over Lebanese air space.

“The cease-fire is holding for the moment ... but it’s fragile,” Pellegrini said.

The U.N. cease-fire resolution calls for Hezbollah to eventually be disarmed, but does not direct peacekeepers to take on that task.

Instead, the force will ensure a buffer zone along the Israeli-Lebanese border is free of Hezbollah fighters and arms up to the Litani River, 18 miles to the north.

At the same time, Lebanese troops are supposed to prevent new weapons shipments to Hezbollah from Syria, a Hezbollah ally.

Annan voices Syrian pledge
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is touring the Middle East to boost peace efforts, has said that Syria promised to patrol its side of the frontier to prevent arms deliveries, though Israel voiced skepticism it would really do so.

In Tehran on Sunday, Annan said that Iran — which helped create Hezbollah and is believed to be its main supplier of arms and money — was supportive of the U.N. cease-fire resolution for Lebanon.

Israel’s devastating offensive on Lebanon was triggered when Hezbollah guerrillas seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid July 12.

More than 850 Lebanese and 150 Israelis died in the conflict.

A 55-year-old Lebanese man was killed Sunday by a cluster bomb left from an Israeli airstrike in the village of Kfar Sir near the Litani River.

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