U.S. envoy for indirect negotiations between Lebanon and Israel over the delineation of their maritime border, Amos Hochstein, in Beirut June 14, 2022. (Credit: Mohamad Azakir/Reuters)
BEIRUT — Hours ahead of visit to Lebanon by United States mediator in the Lebanese-Israeli maritime border negotiations, Amos Hochstein, Hezbollah released a video purportedly of footage from surveillance drones the party sent to the disputed Karish gas field. The footage appears to show the ships Israel has deployed to the offshore field in the party's crosshairs.
Here's what we know:
• The US State Department issued a statement on Saturday announcing Hochstein's visit, saying, "Following visits to Paris, Brussels, and Athens to discuss European energy security … Amos Hochstein will travel to Beirut July 31 to discuss sustainable solutions to Lebanon’s energy crisis, including the Biden Administration’s commitment to facilitating negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on the maritime boundary." The statement added, "Reaching a resolution is both necessary and possible, but can only be done through negotiations and diplomacy."
• Hochstein last visited Lebanon in June, when he held two days of meetings with Lebanese officials in the aftermath of a spike in tensions between Lebanon and Israel, following the latter's deployment of a floating production, storage and offloading unit from the power company Energean in the disputed Karish offshore gas field.
• Since that visit, tensions have continued to simmer, with Hezbollah repeatedly indicating its readiness to defend Lebanon's offshore territory rights and Israel making clear it will respond to any act of perceived aggression.
• The video released by Hezbollah opens with the words “playing with time is useless,” delivered by the party's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and appearing on screen in both Arabic and Hebrew. Then drone images follow one another, showing a series of ships with their descriptions. The video displays images and alleged information about the Energean vessel, whose arrival on the Karish field in early June revived debate on the border dispute, and the Arendal Spirit, a floating platform flying the flag of the Bahamas and whose last known position, according to the site marinetraffic.com, was off the coast of Naqoura.