Israel begins troop pullout from Lebanon, testing truce

~ Israel is waiting for a peacekeeping force to deploy before beginning a full-scale withdrawal.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Israel began slowly pulling out forces from southern Lebanon and made plans to hand over territory Tuesday on the first full day of a tense cease-fire that already has been tested by skirmishes and rocket fire.

But Israeli and Hezbollah forces avoided any escalation, raising hopes that the U.N.-imposed pact could stick, as governments rushed to assemble international troops to deploy in southern Lebanon and firm up the peace.

Hezbollah's two patrons, Syria and Iran, proclaimed on Tuesday that the guerrillas had won the fight with Israel and thwarted America's plan for a "new Middle East" -- a reflection of the two countries' boosted confidence amid Hezbollah's increased popularity around the Arab and Islamic world.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said early in the war between Hezbollah and Israel that any settlement should be durable and lead to a "new Middle East" where extremists have no influence.

But after 34 days of fighting, a cease-fire that took effect Monday brought a fragile truce, with Hezbollah surviving and Israeli forces unable to score a decisive victory. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has declared "strategic, historic victory" against Israel.

Israel and its main backer, the United States, however, portrayed Hezbollah as the loser -- and by extension, its main backers, Iran and Syria. "There's going to be a new power in the south of Lebanon," President Bush said Monday.

As Lebanese refugees streamed home, Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets over southern Lebanon, warning residents to stay out of the area until Lebanese and international troops are deployed.

'Dangerous' situation

"The situation will remain dangerous," until the forces are deployed, the leaflets read.

Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon shot five Hezbollah fighters Tuesday in two separate incidents, but it was not clear if they were wounded or killed, the army said.

The Islamic militant group also fired at least 10 rockets in southern Lebanon, but none crossed the border into Israel. On Monday, at least six Hezbollah militiamen were killed by Israeli troops waiting for a peacekeeping force before beginning a full-scale withdrawal.

Israel is waiting for a peacekeeping force to deploy in the south before beginning a full-scale withdrawal. Lebanon was under intense international pressure to get soldiers moving south into Hezbollah territory -- a key element in the U.N. Security Council plan to end the conflict that claimed more than 970 lives.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Hezbollah has "hoisted the banner of victory" over Israel and thwarted U.S.-led plans to forge a Middle East dominated by "the U.S., Britain and Zionists."

"God's promises have come true," Ahmadinejad told a huge crowd in Arbadil in northwestern Iran. "On one side, it's corrupt powers .... with modern bombs and planes. And on the other side is a group of pious youth relying on God."

In Damascus, Syrian President Bashar Assad said the region has changed "because of the achievements" of Hezbollah and turned U.S dreams of a "new Middle East" into "an illusion."

The U.N. Security Council blueprint calls for Lebanese forces to join up with another 15,000 soldiers in a strengthened U.N.-backed military mission. Their job would be to patrol an 18-mile buffer zone from the Litani River to the Israeli border.

Lebanon's Defense Minister Elias Murr said the Lebanese force of 15,000 soldiers could be on the north side of the Litani River by the end of the week. But they still must cross the river and try to enforce the central government's control over Hezbollah areas for the first time in decades.

In Jerusalem, Israeli army officials said they plan to begin handing over some captured positions on Wednesday and hope to complete the withdrawal from Lebanon by next week.

The plans for territory to change hands shows the complexity of the border zone: Israel transferring it to the U.N. force, which would then turn it over to Lebanese envoys.

The Israeli army said it already had begun thinning out its forces in Lebanon, but did not give figures. During a final ground offensive, about 30,000 Israeli soldiers were believed to be in southern Lebanon.

In a highly symbolic step, the last Israel soldiers left the strategic town of Marjayoun, which was Israel's main base during its 18-year occupation of the border area that ended in 2000.

Israel's military officials also made a first gesture at possible post-conflict negotiations. They said 13 Hezbollah prisoners and the bodies of dozens of guerrillas could be offered in exchange for two captive soldiers, who were taken in a cross-border raid July 12 that touched off the worse Arab-Israel battles in 24 years.

Rescue workers dug through the ruins of apartment buildings and homes in southern villages, looking for bodies that had been left buried because they could not be reached during the Israeli bombardment.

At least 15 bodies were found in two villages near the border, Ainata and Taibeh. Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah also sent teams fanning out across south Lebanon to clear unexploded ordnance from the battlefield. A 12-year-old girl was wounded when an object exploded in her village east of Nabatiyeh.

The planning for the international force was in high gear. Italy's foreign minister said Tuesday his country could send up to 3,000 troops. France, Malaysia, Turkey and Indonesia also have offered to contribute. The foreign ministers of France and Turkey were heading to Lebanon for talks on the expanded U.N. force.

The peacekeeping force also must provide security for a huge reconstruction effort across southern Lebanon, where many villages were in ruins and even basic services like water and electricity may take weeks to restore.

Refugees in cars loaded down with salvaged possessions, began pouring into southern Lebanon just hours after the truce took effect on Monday morning. As they took stock of the wreckage, more refugees were expected to pour in from Syria, Cyprus and other havens during the war.

The newly discovered victims raised to at least 815 the number of people killed in Lebanon during the campaign, most civilians. Israel suffered 157 dead -- including 118 soldiers.

Israel said it would continue its blockade of Lebanese ports but was no longer threatening to shoot any car that moved on roads south of the Litani.

Relief agencies worried about how to move supplies across southern Lebanon over bombed roads and others clogged with traffic. U.N. officials said 24 U.N. trucks took more than five hours to reach the port of Tyre from Sidon, a trip that normally takes 45 minutes.

Sweden plans to host an international donors' conference Aug. 31 to help fund the rebuilding.

In northern Israel -- hit by nearly 4,000 Hezbollah rockets during the conflict -- residents emerged from bomb shelters and slowly trickled back to their homes. A few bathers even lounged on the beach in Haifa, which was hardest hit by the guerrilla attacks.

Canceled bus routes to Kiryat Shemona were resumed, bringing home civilians and taking soldiers southward who had been at war for more than a month.

Avi Tal reopened his coffee shop in the northern town for the first time since early in the war. "All I can offer now is coffee," he said. "It's strange to adjust to the quiet after hearing booms for a month."