In the coming days, a wide range of political and diplomatic communications are expected concerning the maritime border demarcation file between Lebanon and occupied Palestine. This occurs amid continued American efforts to convince Lebanese officials to issue statements rejecting warnings from Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Official sources confirm that Lebanon has not yet been notified of the timing of American mediator Amos Hochstein's visit to Lebanon but indicated "positive atmospheres." They acknowledged, for the first time, that Nasrallah's speech has had an impact on pushing both the American and Israeli sides to make progress, with expectations of forthcoming American statements that would help "clarify points of progress."
Moreover, the Egyptian ambassador in Beirut, Yasser Al-Ellawy, whose country is interested in stability in the eastern Mediterranean as it is a candidate for a central role in selling gas extracted from this region and leads an alliance with Israel, Cyprus, and Greece, has communicated with several Lebanese officials following the drone operations, conveying a message that "all parties involved in the gas file in the Mediterranean, including Israel, do not want escalation, and everyone seeks a negotiated solution that is fair to Lebanon."
It is noteworthy that the Egyptians previously attempted to convince Lebanon to join this alliance instead of relying on the Turkish-Russian axis. Foreign ambassadors have heard from Lebanese officials that Nasrallah's stance implicitly reflects the position of many official leaders who see Israel maneuvering with American support to prevent Lebanon from obtaining its rights, not only in the demarcation file but also in starting exploration and extraction operations.
In this context, French ambassador to Lebanon Anne Grillo informed Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri that the French company "Total" will be ready to start work on the Lebanese side of the maritime border once Lebanon and the occupation entity reach an agreement on border demarcation. The French ambassador clarified that the company does not want to operate in a tense or disputed area and, like other global companies, seeks to ensure political and security stability in its area of operations. Reports indicated that France is keen to reassure Lebanon that the world wants it to gain direct benefits from its oil wealth, with discussions on the part of global companies concerned with exploration and extraction touching on the proposal for Lebanon to buy quantities of gas and oil before extraction, as part of a payment program to help bolster Lebanon's public finances or assist in securing new loans.
International parties have heard clear statements that the resistance has completed operational preparations to confront any encroachment on Lebanon's rights. Meanwhile, several international entities continue to try to assess the extent to which Hezbollah might go in this file, along with the background and implications of Nasrallah's position. They have heard a clear statement reiterating that the party is not framing a "Karish versus Qana" equation, but rather "Lebanon's complete rights in its fields versus all gas and oil fields off the Palestinian coasts." It has become evident to these entities that the "post-Karish" equation aimed to disrupt a maneuver that the enemy was considering, which involved freezing work in the "Karish" field in connection with negotiations with Lebanon while starting work in other fields south of "Karish." If this had happened, Lebanon would have had to wait ten years to obtain recognition of its rights, prompting the resistance to clearly state that the equation does not pertain solely to the "Karish" field, but encompasses all fields off the shores of Lebanon and occupied Palestine.
Informed sources indicated that external entities, communicating to understand the evolving facts, received direct information that the second step from the resistance will go beyond "Karish" by notifying the enemy and all relevant parties that work in those fields should also cease until the complete recognition of Lebanon's rights is achieved.
Additionally, international entities have received clear information that the resistance has completed the necessary operational preparations to implement its plan to confront encroachment on Lebanon's rights. They have only a few weeks before escalating steps with more clarity and impact will be taken to prevent the enemy from encroaching on Lebanon's rights and from extracting gas and oil if Lebanon continues to be barred from doing so. Notably, reports from leaders in the international peacekeeping forces operating in the south indicated exceptional security mobilization by the occupation forces along the maritime border to counter the possibility of new operations through drones, alongside their activation of a wide radar system as well as an air defense system along the coast extending from southern Palestine to southern Lebanon.
