Israel lifted its eight-week sea blockade of Lebanon today after an interim maritime task force led by an Italian admiral deployed off the Lebanese coast, the commander of UN peacekeepers said.
"The force is now operational and I understand that the naval blockade is lifted," UNIFIL head Major-General Alain Pellegrini said in a statement.
Lebanese soldiers arrive in the village of Bayada, southern Lebanon today
"The blockade has seriously undermined the Lebanese economy and it is high time for it to end so as to allow the people to get back to their businesses." There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials.
The Jewish state had earlier said it was coordinating the handover of control of the coast to UN forces under Major-General Pellegrini. Lebanon has demanded a lifting of the blockade to enable it to speed reconstruction of bridges, homes, roads and factories devastated during a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah.
An Italian admiral will command the interim force until a UNIFIL naval task force is deployed.
UNIFIL said it had established a naval operations centre to coordinate all operational details.
A UNIFIL spokesman said four Italian ships were currently supporting the Lebanese navy in monitoring Lebanon's territorial waters.
A Lebanese government source said earlier UNIFIL informed Beirut that it took over control of the coast at 12.30pm (local time) and that the blockade was lifted at that time. "French, Greek and Italian ships will monitor our waters till the Germans arrive," the source said.
Israel ended an air embargo on Lebanon yesterday but held back at the last minute from allowing free shipping movement, saying the naval blockade would be lifted only when ships of an international force were deployed.
"An Italian admiral is assuming control of the UN mandate on the basis of a request by the Lebanese," Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told a joint news conference with Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni in Tel Aviv.
"I think the blockade is ending, air and sea." Livni said the lifting of the embargo was not a question of timing, but of ensuring that responsibility for patrolling the Lebanese coast could be passed to the international forces.
Israel imposed the blockade when it went to war with Hizbollah after guerrillas captured two of its soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12th. It bombed Beirut airport and coastal radars and barred most shipping from Lebanese ports.
Flights to and from Beirut resumed from Thursday evening and several international and Arab airlines announced resumption of normal services. Italian and French naval vessels were expected to begin patrolling the coast until a German-led naval contingent can take over in line with a Lebanese request to the United Nations.
Many countries have criticised the blockade, which Israel said was aimed at stopping Hizbollah from re-arming, but which Lebanon saw as collective punishment.