Special report: Israel-Lebanon conflicts [Gallery] [Videos]

Israel, Lebanon agree on ceasefire

    BERLIN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- A German fleet left on Thursday for the eastern Mediterranean as part of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, kicking off Germany's first military mission in the Middle East since World War II.

    About 1,000 sailors on board eight ships left from Germany's northern port of Wilhelmshaven on Thursday, one day after the German parliament approved the Middle East mission.

    The fleet is expected to reach Lebanese waters within 10 to 14 days, according to the Defense Ministry.

    "This is a historic mission. It is difficult but important task," Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said in an address to the marines on board the frigate "Mecklenburg-Vorpommern".

    "Our job is to ... reinforce the ceasefire so that the search for a lasting political solution in the Middle East can continue," he added

    Up to 2,400 navy personnel will patrol Lebanon's coast to prevent arms from reaching Hezbollah militants. The naval force will also include contributions from Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden

    Germany is planning to send a total of 2,400 troops for the mission and the contingent will be the second-largest in the UN force of 15,000 after Italy's, which is 3,000 soldiers strong.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has hailed Germany's approval of the mission as "historic," even though the country has ruled out sending ground troops to the region considering the sensitivities over its Nazi past.

    In August, a UN-brokered truce ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, during which more than 1,100 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Lebanon and more than 150 people were killed in Israel. Enditem