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| Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:36 am Last Israeli troops leave Lebanon |
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Last Israeli troops leave Lebanon
The troops' exodus
Israel has withdrawn the last of its troops from Lebanon, fulfilling a key condition of the UN ceasefire that ended its war with Hezbollah.
About 200 soldiers crossed into Israel after midnight, the army said.
Israel sent thousands of troops into southern Lebanon during a month-long war triggered by Hezbollah's abduction of two soldiers in July.
Lebanese and international peacekeeping troops are being deployed to monitor the ceasefire.
"The responsibility for Lebanon right now is in the hands of the Lebanese government and, of course, the UN so every act of Hezbollah is the responsibility of Lebanon," Israeli army spokesman Zvika Golan said.
Temporary move?
The BBC's Matthew Price at the border says that although soldiers laughed and held up flags as they crossed back into Israel, there was no sense of victory.
Conflict key maps
Million bomblets in Lebanon
Hezbollah is still holding captive two Israeli soldiers whose abduction sparked off the conflict - and most Israelis also believe that the fight with Hezbollah is not over once and for all, our correspondent says.
The soldiers on the border said they might have to go back into Lebanon one day, he adds.
The UN-brokered truce, agreed in August, ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel has been gradually withdrawing troops since it went into effect.
The UN ceasefire resolution calls on Hezbollah to end attacks against Israel and on Israelis to withdraw.
Other key points include the deployment of Lebanese troops and some 15,000 UN peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon, as well as the return of the two captured Israeli soldiers.
The UN has appointed a mediator to try to win the soldiers' freedom, most likely through a prisoner swap with Israel.
More than 1,100 people - mostly civilians - were killed in Lebanon during the war. In Israel, more than 150 people - mainly soldiers - were killed.
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