Israel said that it will lift its eight-week-old air and sea blockade of Lebanon tomorrow, handing over control of key strategic points to international forces.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office said it had taken the decision after receiving assurances over an arms embargo on Hezbollah from the US and the UN.

"US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan contacted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday and this morning, saying that the international force was ready to take control of airports and seaports in Lebanon," said a statement from Jerusalem.

"This is why it was decided that on Thursday at 1800 local time Israel will leave the positions that allow it to control the ports, enabling the deployment of the international force in its place."

Mr Olmert’s office said that "the Lebanese Government and UN agreed that a German fleet will deploy off the coast of Lebanon. German experts, with their equipment, are therefore expected to arrive at Beirut airport today (Wednesday)."

Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, who was in Ankara for talks over Turkey's contribution to the international peacekeeping force, has also assured Mr Olmert's office that around two weeks after the German fleet deploys, Italian, French and Greek naval forces will patrol the Lebanese coast under the command of the multinational force.

Israel imposed the embargo, bombing Beirut airport and denying ships access to Lebanese ports, one day after Hezbollah captured two of its soldiers on July 12 and sparked a war that was halted by a UN truce nearly five weeks later.

Lebanon had vowed to bust the blockade if it was not lifted by Friday.

In a sign the end of the embargo was imminent, British Airways said it was resuming direct flights to Beirut after the British government had given assurances it would be safe to do so.

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Fawzi Salloukh, said today that the two Israeli soldiers held by Hezbollah would not be released unless there were talks with Israel about the exchange of Lebanese prisoners.

Israel says the main violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ushered in the Aug. 14 truce is Hezbollah’s failure to free the two soldiers. Mr Annan said he would send an envoy to the region to work on the issue before the end of the week.

The UN peacekeeping force commander, Major-General Alain Pellegrini, told France’s Europe 1 radio that the truce in Lebanon remained shaky. "It remains fragile as far as there is an Israeli presence in Lebanon because every incident, misunderstanding or provocation can escalate very quickly," he said.

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