New Delhi, Feb. 17 -- Germany moved to assure Lebanon on Monday that it will support the Lebanese government even after pulling out German troops deployed as part of U.N. peacekeepers along the Lebanon-Israel border when their mission ends later this year.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier made the announcement during a news conference at the presidential palace near Beirut. Germany's navy, he said, is already training Lebanese troops as they boost their presence in the country's south following the 14-month war between Israel and the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.

The mission of the multinational U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, concludes at the end of 2026, nearly five decades after it was deplo...