A Hezbollah supporter holds up a portrait of party leader Hassan Nasrallah on Aug. 9, 2022 in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
BEIRUT — UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric asked “everyone to avoid any rhetoric that could further inflame the situation” during a press briefing on Tuesday that followed comments by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who earlier the same day called on his supporters to be “ready for any eventuality” concerning the maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel.
Here’s what we know:
• During a speech he gave on the 10th day of Ashura, Nasrallah pledged that his party would respond to any Israeli attacks in Lebanon, and he warned Israel by stating that the “resistance has proven that it can defeat the army which is said to be invincible.”
• “I think we are still concerned about the fragility of the situation in the region,” Dujarric said in response to a question about Nasrallah’s repeated threats regarding Israel.
• Nasrallah had also remarked on Tuesday that he is waiting for the results of the ongoing American mediation of maritime border negotiations between the states to decide how to act.
• US mediator Amos Hochstein, who visited Lebanon last week, has conveyed to Israel Lebanon’s grievances regarding the course of the maritime border and is expected to return to Lebanon shortly with the response of the Israeli authorities.
• On June 5, Israel deployed a floating production ship to the Karish gas field located in disputed waters between Lebanon and Israel, causing tensions between the two countries to ramp up.