Italian Marines disembark from a SH3D helicopter near the south beach of Tyre, Lebanon, to secure the area for the landing of the first Italian contingent Saturday. Italian soldiers began arriving in Lebanon as part of the first large contingent of international troops dispatched to boost the U.N. peacekeeping force here since a truce between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas was agreed three weeks ago.

TYRE, Lebanon — Italian soldiers poured into Lebanon on Saturday, part of the first large contingent of international troops dispatched to boost the U.N. force keeping the peace between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.

Around 150 Italian marines wearing blue berets arrived in the Mediterranean port city of Tyre aboard a wave of gray U.N. helicopters. Their first task was to secure two beaches where the remainder of an 880-strong battalion of soldiers will land over the weekend. High waves delayed the deployment, though, and some vehicles and equipment were diverted further south to Naqoura. Another 200 Italian troops are expected Sunday in the capital, Beirut. The commander of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, French Gen. Alain Pellegrini, said the expanded peacekeeping mission marked a break from the past.

"We have to forget the previous UNIFIL. The previous UNIFIL is dead and the new one is very different," Pellegrini told reporters. "It is strengthened with stronger rules of engagement. We will have more people, more equipment. We have the possibility to use force to implement our mission."

International troops have been slow to arrive in Lebanon since an Aug. 14 cease-fire ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, in part because it took time to work out the troops' mandate.

Besides the Italian contingent, just 250 extra French soldiers have made it to the country, though France has said it will send a total of 2,000 troops. The Italians' arrival will bring the number of U.N. forces to around 3,250. Also Saturday, Indonesia said it would send up to 1,000 soldiers to southern Lebanon by the month's end, after Israel dropped objections to its participation in the force.

Israel had said it did not want Indonesia to take part because the predominantly Muslim nation did not have relations with the Jewish state.

The U.N. force is to expand to 15,000 over the next few months, reinforcing an equal number of Lebanese soldiers. The troops are to monitor south Lebanon as Israeli forces withdraw from positions they invaded last month, leaving a buffer zone theoretically free of Hezbollah fighters and arms between the Litani River and the U.N.-drawn border, or Blue Line, about 20 miles to the south.

Hezbollah has vowed not to lay down its weapons and its fighters have melted away into the civilian population. The Lebanese army has made no moves to disarm them.

In the meantime, Israel has been destroying Hezbollah arms caches in territories it still occupies in south "very often," Pellegrini said.

The presence of more U.N. troops may help assuage fears of a renewal of hostilities. But the peacekeepers will stay out of the most sensitive issues, both demanded by Israel: disarming Hezbollah and keeping the guerrillas from receiving fresh arms, especially via Lebanon's border with Syria. Syria strongly opposes any international forces along its border.