JERUSALEM: Israel on Monday warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah any attack on its gas assets could spark war, after the militant group threatened to “sever” Israel’s hands if it taps a disputed offshore field.
The warning from Defense Minister Benny Gantz comes amid lengthy negotiations between the eastern Mediterranean neighbors to settle a dispute over their maritime border.
Tensions spiked in June when a production vessel chartered by Israel arrived near the Karish offshore gas field, which Lebanon claims is within contested waters.
Israel said on July 2 that it had downed three drones launched by Hezbollah toward Karish.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on August 9 that “the hand that reaches for any of this wealth will be severed.”
Asked if any attack by Hezbollah against an Israeli gas field could lead to war, Gantz said: “Yes, that could trigger a reaction.”
“Leading to several days of fighting and to a military campaign. We are strong and prepared for this scenario, but we don’t want it,” the minister told Israel’s 103 FM radio station.
Gantz said extraction from the gas field would begin “when it is ready to produce,” reaffirming Israel’s claim to Karish.
“The State of Israel is both ready to protect its assets and ready to reach a deal with the Lebanese government, via American mediation, on the Sidon deposit,” he said in reference to another gas field known in Lebanon as Qana.
“I believe that in the future, there will be two gas platforms. One on our side, one on theirs. And I hope that we do not have to go through another round of confrontations before then.”
Israel and Lebanon last fought a devastating conflict in 2006 and remain officially at war, with United Nations peacekeepers patrolling the land border.
Negotiations on the maritime border resumed in 2020, with the talks stalling before being revived in June.
The initial discussions focused on a disputed area of 860 square kilometers (332 square miles), in accordance with Lebanon’s claims registered at the UN in 2011.
Beirut subsequently requested the area be expanded by a further 1,430 square kilometers, which includes part of the Karish field that Israel states is within its exclusive economic zone recognized by the UN.
Israel warns Hezbollah attack on gas field may mean war
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Israel warns Hezbollah attack on gas field may mean war
- Lengthy negotiations between the eastern Mediterranean neighbors to settle a dispute over their maritime border
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces
- There was no immediate statement from the Kurdish-led SDF
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
There was no immediate statement from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier on Saturday, a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish fighters had ended with no clear sign of whether it would be renewed, as the main Kurdish-led force in the country called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
Syria’s state news agency SANA had quoted an unnamed government official as saying that the truce had ended and the government was “studying its options.”
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq. On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
