UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Annan says Israel-Hizbollah truce 'generally holding'

A cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah that took hold early on Monday (August 14) "appears to be generally holding," U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said. "I urge the parties to make every effort, in the interest of the civilian population on both sides, to continue to consolidate the cessation," Annan he added. Security sources in south Lebanon said Israeli air strikes and artillery fire continued until just a few minutes before the truce took effect at 0500 GMT. Then there was silence. Across the border, no more Hizbollah rockets struck Israeli towns. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday that his country will keep pursuing Hizbollah leaders "everywhere and anytime" and will reserve the right to respond to any truce violations. "I also urge them to move to swiftly convert it into a lasting ceasefire in cooperation with UNIFIL through the measures prescribed in the Security Council resolution. The United Nations is actively carrying out its part in those measures and I strongly urge urge all parties to do likewise including especially those member states that can contribute to the enhanced UNIFIL," Annan said. Thousands of Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon, and they are not expected to withdraw fully until an expanded UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) peacekeeping force arrives alongside Lebanese troops. Under a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted on Friday (August 11), Israeli forces must start to withdraw as foreign peacekeepers and Lebanese soldiers deploy in the south. Hizbollah must also pull its fighters out of southern Lebanon. Hizbollah has said it accepts the U.N. resolution although it regards some aspects of it as unjust. The shooting on Monday of two Hizbollah guerrillas by Israeli soldiers underlined the fragility of the calm. Israel shot dead a Hizbollah fighter in Lebanon after he fired on them, the first casualty since the truce began. The army said soldiers elsewhere shot another Hizbollah guerrilla aiming a gun at them. It was not known if he was killed. Tens of thousands of Lebanese displaced by five weeks of fighting headed south towards their homes, choking bomb-damaged roads with their cars in spite of a warning from Israel not to return to the area. Drivers honked their horns in celebration. In northern Israel, soldiers coming out of Lebanon were greeted with hugs and handshakes by their comrades. Streets became busier as residents emerged from homes and bomb shelters. "Millions around the world have pinned their hopes for peace on the implementation of this agreement. Neither side should have an reason to disappoint those hopes, and if either were to do so it would pay a heavy price in terms of world public opinion," Annan warned. Around 1,100 people in Lebanon and 156 Israelis have been killed in the war that began after Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. Israel says around 530 Hizbollah guerrillas were killed in the war. Hizbollah has acknowledged only about 80 dead. The truce has not resolved many key issues including the fate of the two captured Israeli soldiers, the question of whether Hizbollah will disarm and the status of the Shebaa Farms area which is claimed by Lebanon but occupied by Israel.

ITN Source | August 14, 2006

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