BEIRUT, Lebanon - The U.N. chief on Saturday visited with peacekeepers in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border to thank them for monitoring the cease-fire after a devastating war last summer between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.

Ban Ki-moon flew by helicopter from Beirut to the headquarters of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon — or, UNIFIL — at the Lebanese coastal border town of Naqoura, where he was briefed by senior commanders. He was expected to fly over the Blue Line, the U.N.-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, and make stops at several of the force's bases before returning to New York, ending a Mideast tour.

"This is an occasion for me to express my gratitude in person to all of you," he said during a ceremony at the headquarters. "This visit will allow me to see the challenging environment in which you live and work."

UNIFIL first deployed in Lebanon in 1978 after an Israeli invasion. But the force has not been able to stop guerrilla attacks on Israel or subsequent Israeli incursions into Lebanon, such as Israel's 1982 invasion. The fighting between Hezbollah and Israel last summer, which killed more than 1,000 in Lebanon and 159 Israelis, was halted by a U.N.-brokered cease-fire that called for reinforcing UNIFIL to help Lebanese troops patrol the region.

The reinforced UNIFIL, now numbering close to 13,000 from 30 countries, began taking up positions in August. It currently patrols a weapons-free zone alongside some 15,000 Lebanese troops.

The U.N. chief arrived Thursday in Beirut from Saudi Arabia, where he attended an Arab summit. His Mideast tour had already taken him to Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

In Beirut Friday after meeting Lebanon's prime minister, he called for the full implementation of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended last summer's war between Hezbollah and Israel, expressing disappointment that there has been no progress toward the release of two Israeli soldiers whose capture by the guerrillas triggered the conflict.

Hezbollah has not provided any information about the conditions of the two Israeli soldiers seized on July 12. Hezbollah has insisted the soldiers would be released only through a prisoner exchange with Israel.

The resolution also calls for a halt in arms shipments to Hezbollah.

Ban met Friday with Lebanese security chiefs to discuss ways of enhancing the monitoring capabilities of the Lebanese army along the Syria-Lebanon border, saying "there are allegations, information that the arms embargo is not being implemented." Israel has said Hezbollah continues to receive arms smuggled across the border with Syria, one of Hezbollah's principal patrons.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who is opposed to Hezbollah and Syrian influence, said his government was trying to improve its monitoring capabilities but stressed that "not one single case of arms smuggling across the border" with Syria has been recorded.