BEIRUT, Sept 6: Israel said on Wednesday it would lift an eight-week-old air and sea blockade against Lebanon on Thursday, handing over control to international forces. It said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had been told by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that international forces were ready to take over control posts over the sea ports and airports of Lebanon.

“Thus it was agreed that tomorrow at 6 pm (1500 GMT), Israel will leave the control positions over the ports in conjunction with the entry of the international forces,” a statement from Mr Olmert’s office said.

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

Mr Annan, in Ankara for talks with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Turkey’s contribution to a bigger UN peacekeeping force to shore up the truce, had been heavily involved in trying to broker a deal to end the blockade.

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 gave assurances it would be safe to do so.

Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines and Royal Jordanian began flying regularly into the capital last month, but have complied with Israel’s insistence such flights go via Amman. Qatar Airways resumed direct flights to Beirut on Monday.—Reuters