Victorious Hizbullah Rebuilds Lebanon

"We will launch tomorrow the battle of reconstruction," said Nasrallah.

"We will launch tomorrow the battle of reconstruction," a confident Nasrallah said in a televised speech broadcast on Hizbullah's Al-Manar television channel, triggering shots into the air and fireworks across war-battered Lebanon.

He vowed to immediately begin paying money to the owners of 15,000 homes completely destroyed in the savage Israeli bombardment.

"From tomorrow... we will pay a certain amount of money for every family that whose house was totally destroyed to rent a place for one year and buy furniture."

Nasrallah said his group would also help whose houses were partially damaged.

He urged all Lebanese, particularly architects and youths, to take part in the re-construction process.

Nasrallah urged all Hizbullah members and supporters to volunteer in the rebuilding of the demolished homes.

The speech came after a UN-brokered deal took effect at 8 am (0500 GMT) on Monday, the 34th day of the devastating Israeli offensive against Lebanon, which has claimed the lives of about 1,150 people, mostly civilians.

Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the massive Israeli onslaught, many showing the V sign, jammed bombed-out roads across the south in the hope of returning home, their cars and pickup trucks loaded with families and belongings.

Around one million people have been displaced by Israeli bombardments that also destroyed thousands of homes, dozens of bridges and hundreds of kilometers (miles) of roads.

No Haste

The Israeli offensive caused wide-scale destruction. (Reuters)

He asserted that the tight was not ripe to discuss the disarming of the resistance.

"There is a mistake in timing, both psychologically and morally," Nasrallah said.

He regretted that some Lebanese politicians have gone far even than Israel and the US in demanding the immediate disarming of the resistance.

"This is a mistake. A big mistake. We have exerted a great effort to prevent any reactions (from Hizbullah supporters) because what happened was insulting," Nasrallah said.

"I call on the people, the resistance lovers and supporters, to ignore whatever provocative remarks they have heard."

The UN Security Council resolution 1701 that ended hostilities calls for the deployment of the Lebanese army in south Lebanon but does not set the disarming of Hizbullah as a perquisite for the ceasefire.

Nasrallah asserted that the resistance was still needed to deter Israel until a strong, equipped and able state and army are in place.

"Can the Lebanese army — in its present state and capabilities — fight if war is imposed on Lebanon? Can a UN force defend Lebanon?" he asked.

"This is an issue which concerns the future of Lebanon, it should not be tackled lightly," Nasrallah said.

Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said Monday the Lebanese army will not deploy in southern Lebanon to disarm Hizbullah.

"The army won't be deployed to south Lebanon to disarm Hizbullah, something which Israel wasn't able to do itself," he said on the private television station LBC.

"Its role is to ensure the security of the resistance and citizens, to protect the victory of the resistance," Murr said.

Murr added that the question of the disarmament of Hizbullah was for the national dialogue conference, which unites Lebanon's 14 major religious communities.

The conference started in March and was due to discuss Hizbullah disarmament last month.

A senior Lebanese military source said Tuesday that the army will start deploying 15,000 troops in the south near the border with Israel as Tel Aviv withdraws its troops from the area.

Israeli officials and Western diplomats said on Tuesday that the Israeli army plans to start pulling back from some small pockets of southern Lebanon and hand them over to UN troops in a day or two.