Army spokesmen said that UNIFIL troops have been stationed in less than half of the area. Earlier reports said the IDF had pulled two-thirds of its forces out of the southern sector, including troops near the Har Dov area on the Syrian-Lebanese-Israeli border. Hizbullah terrorists have claimed that the area belongs to Lebanon, and has staged several provocations there in the past several years.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had earlier rejected a demand by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to withdraw from southern Lebanon until the entire UN Security Council ceasefire resolution is implemented. Annan again called on Israel to lift its blockade on Lebanon and pull IDF troops from Lebanon. He said the blockade is “unsustainable” and a form of "collective punishment of the Lebanese people.” Israel refused, but did pull troops out of Har Dov.

Speaking at a news conference in Jordan following a meeting at the Dead Sea with King Abdullah, Annan said Israel should “withdraw completely” from Lebanon as soon as the number of UNIFIL soldiers has reached 5,000. Annan was on the third leg of a Middle East diplomacy tour intended to shore up the shaky ceasefire that ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hizbullah terrorists on August14th.

The U.N. leader added that he soon hopes to double the number of troops already deployed in southern Lebanon, some 2,500 soldiers. Italy is expected to send 800 – 1,000 troops to the region by the end of the week. A total of 15,000 UNIFIL soldiers are scheduled to be in place by the beginning of November.

Israel's seven-week-old blockade is meant to prevent Hizbullah from receiving new weapons and ammunition from Syria and Iran. Prime Minister Olmert reiterated Israel’s position that IDF forces will not be completely removed until all aspects of the U.N. ceasefire agreement are fulfilled.

The presence of the IDF is intended to act as a deterrent against renewed rocket attacks launched from southern Lebanon and to prevent land-based arms deliveries from being smuggled into the country across the Syrian border.