Lebanon accuses Israeli gunboat of violating its waters

By Wassim Seif El-Din
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) – The Lebanese army said Tuesday an Israeli gunboat had violated the country’s territorial waters, in the second such incident this week.

A military statement said the incident took place in an area in the Mediterranean Sea opposite to Ras al-Naqoura.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli authorities on the claim.

On Sunday, the Lebanese army said two Israeli gunships had violated Lebanon’s territorial waters off the Ras al-Naqoura area.

The incident occurred days after both Beirut and Tel Aviv reached a US-brokered deal to demarcate their maritime borders.

Lebanon’s Parliament Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said Sunday that the maritime border deal will be signed within ten days.

Lebanon and Israel have been locked in a dispute over a maritime area of 860 square kilometers (332 square miles) rich in gas and oil, according to maps sent by both countries to the UN in 2011.

Negotiations over the territory in the Mediterranean Sea, which contain part of the Karish gas field and Qana, a prospective gas field, have been ongoing since 2020.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report