BEIRUT (Reuters):
Israeli forces began leaving parts of south Lebanon yesterday as a United Nations truce largely held for a second day and the Lebanese army prepared to move south.
Tens of thousands of Lebanese refugees in the south as well as northern Israeli residents who had fled the month-long war headed home to battered villages and towns.
The Israeli army, which had poured 30,000 troops into the south to fight the Shi'ite Muslim guerrillas, plans to start handing over some pockets of territory to U.N. troops in a day or two, Israeli officials and Western diplomats said.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Iran and Syria cheered yesterday that Hezbollah defeated Israel in their 34-day war, with the Iranian President telling a crowd that "God's promises have come true" and the United States' plans to reshape the Middle East had been ruined.
