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Hezbollah Continues to Escalate Rhetoric in Maritime Border Demarcation

This grab from a video made available by the media office of Hezbollah on July 3, 2022 reportedly shows footage from a drone showing an Energean Floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) in the Karish field, an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean sea, which is claimed by Israel and partly claimed by Lebanon. (AFP/Hezbollah media office)
This grab from a video made available by the media office of Hezbollah on July 3, 2022 reportedly shows footage from a drone showing an Energean Floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) in the Karish field, an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean sea, which is claimed by Israel and partly claimed by Lebanon. (AFP/Hezbollah media office)
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Hezbollah Continues to Escalate Rhetoric in Maritime Border Demarcation

This grab from a video made available by the media office of Hezbollah on July 3, 2022 reportedly shows footage from a drone showing an Energean Floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) in the Karish field, an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean sea, which is claimed by Israel and partly claimed by Lebanon. (AFP/Hezbollah media office)
This grab from a video made available by the media office of Hezbollah on July 3, 2022 reportedly shows footage from a drone showing an Energean Floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) in the Karish field, an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean sea, which is claimed by Israel and partly claimed by Lebanon. (AFP/Hezbollah media office)

Hezbollah continued to escalate its rhetoric in Lebanon's maritime border demarcation negotiations with Israel.

The Iran-backed party again justified its firing of drones towards Israel’s offshore Karish gas field earlier this month.

Hezbollah central council member Sheikh Nabil Qaouq justified the attack, saying the party helped restore momentum to the negotiations and boosted Lebanon’s negotiating position.

“The resistance [Hezbollah] is Lebanon’s strategic treasure and shield,” he added.

“It carried out its duties to serve the Lebanese people and preserve their dignity and wealth,” he remarked.

“The message of the drones took place at the right time and place and its impact was immediate. It was a completely national message and Lebanese in its goals. The message is not tied to the Iranian nuclear negotiations or American visits,” he added.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said on Saturday that the party is now in a position of strength and it believes it is concerned in protecting all of Lebanon’s wealth.

He accused Israel of maneuvering in the negotiations through a dishonest American mediator.

The maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel returned to the fore last month after Israel moved a production vessel into Karish, parts of which are claimed by Lebanon.

The move forced the Lebanese government to call for the resumption of US-mediated negotiations that had hit a wall last year over demarcation disputes.

Hezbollah for its part threatened Israel and the company that owns the production vessel against proceeding with extraction, saying it was ready to stand in the way.

Lebanon is now waiting for a response from Israel after relaying its maritime border position to US mediator Amos Hochstein who visited Beirut last month at the request of authorities.

Hezbollah’s firing of drones drew criticism from Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib.

“Any act that falls outside the framework of the state's responsibility and the diplomatic track within which negotiations are taking place, is unacceptable and exposes (Lebanon) to unnecessary risks,” he said after meeting caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati.

Bou Habib on Monday called on “all parties to show a spirit of supreme national interest and commit to... supporting the state in the negotiation process,” in a veiled message to Hezbollah.

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Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
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Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)

The Israeli military has announced the formation of a special rapid response unit in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to fend off threats from Syria, when necessary.

Commander of the 210th Bashan Division Lieutenant Colonel Yair Palai said the unit would operate as an effective attack force capable to launch in seconds and prevent threats on Israel similar to the one Hamas launched on October 7, 2023.

“The Unit will be prepared 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of events,” he said.

“In the case of any security incident, the Unit will strike the enemy mercilessly. There is no possibility of failure, because this unit depends on constant vigilance,” Palai said.

The unit, which is comprised of elite soldiers from reconnaissance units and special reserve units, will operate under the 210th Division.

Sources said the unit has fully mobilized and operated continuously over the past three months.

Its goal was initially to counter Iranian, Syrian, Yemeni, Iraqi or other militias that might operate from the Golan against Jewish settlements there.

But recent developments in Syria compelled the army to prepare for any additional threats.

Last week, Syrian army soldiers were killed in a major attack by opposition fighters led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, who swept into the city of Aleppo in the northwest, forcing the military to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar Assad in years.

On Tuesday, Haaretz said the Israeli military fears that amid the Syrian opposition assault and their taking over of military sites belonging to the Assad regime in the country, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands.

If such weapons fall into the hands of the opposition fighters or Iranian militias, Israel would have to act in a way that “may affect Syria and the entire Middle East,” according to Haaretz.

The report said that after the country's civil war, Assad tried to rebuild his chemical weapons production facilities, with most having been removed from Syria under an international agreement. But a substantial part of the chemical weapons project, particularly the knowledge accumulated over the years, still remains in Assad's hands.

Haaretz wrote that Israel has relayed messages to the Syrian regime via the Russians insisting that Assad assert his sovereignty and bar Iran from operating from within Syria.

“The army is monitoring with concern the surprise Syrian rebel offensive on Assad strongholds in Syria that began last week,” it said.

Also, intelligence officials believe that while the Syrian president's standing has been weakened, Iran, with Russia's support, is exploiting the chaos in order to send in tens of thousands of fighters from the armed militias that support it.

According to Haaretz, the army's current estimate is that there are 40,000 Iranian militia fighters in Syria.

In tandem with the ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli army has been carrying out strikes almost daily on the border between Syria and Lebanon in order to thwart attempts to smuggle weaponry destined for Hezbollah.

Although to date there is no firm evidence that the Iranian forces plan to station themselves in Damascus, the newspaper said one Israeli diplomatic official involved in the discussions referred to this on Sunday as a known fact. “Iran has begun to send an influx of forces into Syria in an attempt to aid Assad and suppress the revolt,” he said.