Lebanon truce takes hold

Half an hour after the cease-fire took hold, Israeli warplanes were absent from skies across Lebanon, including the Bekaa Valley, where airstrikes had hit about one hour before.


"Suddenly, just after 0800 (0500GMT) there was complete quiet in south Lebanon," a Reuters source said shortly after the ceasefire came into effect.

In the southern port city of Tyre, people began to venture out of their homes for the first time since a curfew was imposed on roads there.

In a Beirut park and in camps across the country refugees were seen packing up their belongings and preparing to return to homes they had fled weeks ago. Many do not know if their homes are still standing.

Meanwhile Israeli military officials said the army had begun withdrawing troops from south Lebanon.

However, Israel has said it will continue its blockade around Lebanon, "until a mechanism is put in place to control smuggling of arms [to Hezbollah]."

In Beirut in the hours immediately after the ceasefire came into effect, Jihad Azour, the Lebanese finance Minister, told France 2 television the truce appeared to be holding.

"The situation is stable along the whole border and the zones of hostilities," he said.

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