ALEXANDRIA, Egypt - Israel should lift its blockade of Lebanon within 48 hours, UN chief Kofi Annan said Tuesday as he wrapped up a tour aimed at shoring up a fragile truce in Lebanon and rekindling regional peace efforts.

Annan's announcement of an imminent end to the crippling nearly eight-week air and sea blockade was the latest result obtained by the UN secretary general on his marathon tour of the Middle East.

On Monday, Qatar became the first Arab country to pledge troops to a UN peacekeeping force for Lebanon and the UN secretary general said he had appointed a mediator to secure the release of two Israeli soldiers, whose capture by the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group sparked a month-long war.

In Egypt on the latest leg of his whistle-stop tour of the Middle East, Annan was asked by reporters after meeting President Hosni Mubarak if he expected Israel to lift its blockade of Lebanon.

"Yes, within 48 hours," he answered. "Because we are all working very hard and with a bit of goodwill and reasonableness, we should be able to resolve it within the next 48 hours."

Israel imposed its air and sea blockade on Lebanon shortly after unleashing its 34-day offensive against Hezbollah on July 12, saying it was aimed at preventing the Shiite militants from receiving weapons.

The Jewish state has said the blockade will be lifted once a UN-brokered truce that went into effect on August 14 has been implemented fully under Security Council Resolution 1701.

"When the Lebanese government augmented by international forces are ready to enforce the arms embargo against Hezbollah, Israel will be ready to lift restrictions on movement of people and cargo," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Marc Regev told AFP.

Among other things, the resolution calls for Hezbollah to be disarmed and for the unconditional release of the two captive soldiers.

France, which commands the UN force in Lebanon, announced Tuesday it had received a Lebanese request to monitor the country's coastline. The foreign ministry said it was "looking at it favourably."

In an interview published Tuesday by the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also said his militants would not disarm -- as demanded by the UN resolution -- but promised they would use their weapons only if Israel attacked.

"The (Islamic) Resistance (the armed wing of Hezbollah) will use its rockets only in case of an Israeli attack and war against Lebanon," he said.

Annan said both Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to negotiate the release of the two servicemen and announced he had appointed a mediator to secure a deal.

"I'm hopeful that my facilitator will be able to work expeditiously with the parties to come forward with an acceptable solution for both parties," Annan said in Alexandria.

Hezbollah is demanding that Israel release Lebanese prisoners in exchange for the soldiers but the Jewish state made it clear it would not negotiate directly with the Shiite movement, which it considers a terrorist organisation.

More than 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers, in the 34-day conflict.

Annan, who also met Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and Arab League chief Amr Mussa, said he was "quite satisfied" with the outcome of his tour.

"I came to the region on a mission of peace... I'm leaving the region encouraged by the discussions I've had," he said.

Annan and Abul Gheit also voiced hope that the latest diplomatic developments could rekindle efforts for a comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

"International efforts to revive the Middle East peace process" were also the focus of a meeting Tuesday in Abu Dhabi between Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan.

The UN chief's discussions in Egypt had also been expected to focus on the fate of a third Israeli soldier captured on June 25 by Gaza militant groups, including the armed wing of the governing Palestinian movement Hamas.

Abul Gheit said Monday that the release of the soldier -- whose capture sparked a massive Israeli military onslaught on the Gaza Strip and caused the territory's closure -- could be a matter of hours or days.

An Israeli media report Sunday said Egypt was brokering an exchange of the soldier for some 800 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Besides Saudi Arabia, Annan has already visited Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Syria and Iran as part of his regional tour. He was due in Turkey later Tuesday.

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