Israel Not Yet Decisive on Parallel Demarcation of Land, Sea Borders

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield, right, who is attempting to mediate a border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, meets with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil at the Lebanese foreign ministry in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (AP)
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield, right, who is attempting to mediate a border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, meets with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil at the Lebanese foreign ministry in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (AP)
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Israel Not Yet Decisive on Parallel Demarcation of Land, Sea Borders

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield, right, who is attempting to mediate a border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, meets with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil at the Lebanese foreign ministry in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (AP)
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield, right, who is attempting to mediate a border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, meets with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil at the Lebanese foreign ministry in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (AP)

David Satterfield, the acting United States assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, met on Tuesday with President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, to update them on his recent talks with Israeli officials on the demarcation of the land and maritime borders.

The US official is currently on a mission to reach understandings and agreements on the demarcation of borders. He returned to Beirut from Tel Aviv to convey the Israeli response to the relevant Lebanese proposal.

Sources close to Berri said that positive atmosphere surrounded the talks, adding that Lebanon “looks forward to the completion of the negotiation process with Israel, provided that the issue of Hezbollah’s arms would not be linked to the demarcation file.”

Satterfield discussed with Hariri the latest local and regional developments and underlined his commitment to mediate between the Lebanese and Israeli sides in order to reach an agreement over the border demarcation.

Meanwhile, LBC television channel reported that the issue of the parallel demarcation of the maritime and land borders has not yet been resolved by the Israelis. It added that Satterfield would return to Tel Aviv to complete the discussions over this point in addition to other matters, and would later inform Lebanon of the outcome of his consultations.

In this regard, a Lebanese official with knowledge of the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon insisted on the demarcation of the maritime and land borders at the same time, to guarantee the full process, while Israel wanted to start first with the sea borders.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point.

The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others.

An Israeli airstrike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said.

In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added.

Several other people were wounded, he said.

In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defense spokesman.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack.

On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.