Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said Italian troops deployed in Lebanon as part of a UN peacekeeping force will not be tasked with disarming Hezbollah.

In an interview with weekly L'Espresso published on Thursday, the minister said "it would be wrong to say our soldiers are going there to disarm Hezbollah."

He said in the conflict between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel, which he described as "a disastrous political mistake," "large swathes" of the Lebanese population now support the militia group.

"They consider it a kind of national resistance force," he explained.

Under such circumstances, the only way to disarm the movement would be bringing it under government control and incorporating it into the existing Lebanese army, said the minister.

Italy has promised to send 3,000 troops to contribute to a French-led UN force in south Lebanon, which will help the Lebanese army enforce a UN-sponsored truce between Israel and Hezbollah, which came into effect on Monday.

The Italian cabinet will meet on Friday to discuss Italy's involvement, after which D'Alema and Defense Minister Arturo Parisi will explain the details to the House and Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees.

The committees will be called on to approve a resolution authorizing Italy's contribution to the UN force.

The beefed-up UN force, from 2,000 to 15,000, was authorized under UN Resolution 1701 unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council last Friday, which also calls for Israel's withdrawal from the area.

The month-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah was triggered by Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border attack on July 12.

The conflict has left over 1,000 Lebanese and some 150 Israelis dead.