"I welcome the IDF (Israeli army) withdrawal from the area around Ghajar," Major General Alain Pellegrini, commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said in a statement.
"I hope that we will reach an agreement very soon for full IDF withdrawal from Lebanese territory, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, including the northern part of Ghajar village," he said.
The UN statement said Pellegrini "met with senior officers from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) at the UN position at the border crossing at Ras Al Naqoura."
"It was agreed that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) will withdraw their forces from most of the surrounding area of Ghajar village today," it said.
"UNIFIL will carry out intensive patrolling and set up temporary checkpoints in the specified area to confirm that the IDF were no longer present there," it said.
The statement, which gave no further details on the timing and areas of the withdrawal, said the Israeli army "is still present inside the northern part of the village of Ghajar and the immediate vicinity, inside Lebanese territory."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006