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Israel says it has begun withdrawal from Lebanon

Trucks heading south pass damaged bridges Wednesday in Beirut, Lebanon.

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BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israeli troops have begun handing over control of territory in southern Lebanon to the U.N. observer mission, the Israeli military announced early Thursday.

Already, half the area south of the Litani River has been turned over to the U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon, which has about 2,000 troops, the Israeli military said.

Under the terms of the U.N.-brokered peace agreement, U.N. forces will eventually number 15,000 in southern Lebanon and could comprise troops from France, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan. (Watch how the debate turns to who won and who lost -- 2:12)

The United nations plans to deploy within two weeks an additional 3,000 to 3,500 troops in southern Lebanon as a "vanguard force," working with Lebanese troops to consolidate the cease-fire there, according to Deputy Director of U.N. Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi.

Thursday's transfer was "conditional on the reinforcement of UNIFIL and the ability of the Lebanese Army to take effective control of the area," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Word of the withdrawal came hours after the Lebanese Cabinet unanimously approved the deployment of 15,000 troops to southern Lebanon beginning Thursday, a Cabinet minister told CNN.

The measure was approved to speed up the deployment of U.N. forces and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Wednesday said it was time for the Lebanese government to take control of southern Lebanon from the Hezbollah militia.

In a televised address, he praised Hezbollah guerillas for what they accomplished on the battlefield. But he added that once Lebanese troops deploy, "There will be no other weapons other than those of the Lebanese government."

The Cabinet -- which includes two members of Hezbollah's political party -- also tackled the sticky issue of how to deal with Hezbollah fighters south of the Litani River. (Watch Hezbollah's plan for rebuilding Lebanon -- 1:53)

An option to integrate Hezbollah fighters into the Lebanese Army was rejected by Hezbollah, senior political sources told CNN.

Hezbollah has agreed to disarm its forces south of the Litani River but will not pull them out of southern Lebanon, where its members live.

"Hezbollah individuals are people who live in the south, and they will not leave their homes and villages. But an armed Hezbollah will not be in the south," Mohamad Chatah, a senior adviser to Siniora, told CNN.

U.N. Resolution 1701 prohibits all armed militias from operating in southern Lebanon but does not specify whether the militias should disarm or pull out of the region. (Watch how Hezbollah's resistance to Israeli air power may prove a lesson to the U.S. -- 1:47)

U.N. plan

Two envoys to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan -- Terje Roed Larsen and Vijay Nambiar -- will head to Lebanon and Israel on Thursday to follow up on the implementation of the cease-fire resolution, the United Nations announced.

Annan on Wednesday met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who said she discussed Israel's desire for a mixed force of troops from European and Muslim nations.

She said Israel fully supports the U.N.-brokered cease-fire with Hezbollah and that the "ball is now in the court of the government of Lebanon" to ensure no armed militias operate in southern Lebanon.

The first 200 U.N. troops could arrive by the start of next week. But UNIFIL chief Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini said Tuesday it could be November before the full contingent arrives.

"To pass from 2,000 to 15,000 is enormous," Pellegrini told CNN.

South Lebanon still a dangerous place

As the cease-fire entered its third day, the death toll in Lebanon continued to climb; bodies are being discovered as Israeli and Hezbollah forces pull back.

The detritus of war, including the occasional unexploded bomb, litters the streets and such hazards slowed the evacuation of the wounded and deliveries of food and fuel to people in the south, officials told The Associated Press.

Security officials said an explosive detonated Wednesday in the town of Nabatiye, killing a 20-year-old man, AP reported.

Ali Turkieh stepped on the bomb outside his family home. A girl in the area was injured by explosives a day earlier, AP said. (Watch refugees' struggle to get home -- 3:07)

The U.N. World Food Program appealed for more money Wednesday, warning that a severe lack of funds for its logistics operation in Lebanon was threatening to halt its aid efforts.

Lebanese Internal Security Forces reported 989 fatalities since the conflict began July 12, including 56 bodies retrieved from the village of Srifa.

At least 159 deaths have been reported in Israel, the IDF said Tuesday.

Other developments

Israel's military chief of staff is fending off criticism and calls for his resignation in the wake of news he dumped stock at the conflict's outset. Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, the head of the IDF, admitted selling about $28,000 worth of his stocks within three hours of Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers -- the action that sparked the conflict. Israel's stock market slid sharply in the days after fighting erupted. In a news conference in Tel Aviv, Halutz said the stock sale was unrelated to the outbreak of war and criticized the disclosure of his personal financial information.

Israel's government named a former military chief of staff to investigate how the conflict was handled. Observers have called the military campaign hasty, badly planned and too reliant on air power to destroy Hezbollah. The committee plans to deliver a report in three weeks, the defense ministry said.

Israel has opened its airspace to planes from Arab countries carrying humanitarian aid to Lebanon, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Wednesday. Israel normally does not permit overflights of aircraft from Arab countries with which it doesn't have diplomatic relations. "Whenever we are asked we agreed, as long as we are convinced" the flights bring humanitarian aid, Peres said, without identifying the countries.

CNN's Jim Clancy and Paul Courson contributed to this report.

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