Lebanon Expects US Mediator Offer for Maritime Border with Israel within Days

US Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon September 9, 2022. (Reuters)
US Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon September 9, 2022. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Expects US Mediator Offer for Maritime Border with Israel within Days

US Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon September 9, 2022. (Reuters)
US Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon September 9, 2022. (Reuters)

Lebanon expects a written offer from US mediator Amos Hochstein concerning the demarcation of a maritime border with Israel by the end of the week, Lebanon's presidency tweeted on Monday.

Lebanon's deputy speaker of parliament Elias Bou Saab met with Hochstein last week during a visit to New York and briefed President Michel Aoun on the outcome, the presidency added.

Hochstein has been shuttling between Lebanon and Israel - enemy states with a history of conflict - in a bid to forge a compromise over the maritime boundary that would allow both to explore for offshore energy reserves.

A deal would defuse one potential source of conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has warned against any Israeli exploration and extraction in the disputed waters.



Israeli Official Says Hamas is Only Obstacle to Release of Hostages

Destroyed buildings stand inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Destroyed buildings stand inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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Israeli Official Says Hamas is Only Obstacle to Release of Hostages

Destroyed buildings stand inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Destroyed buildings stand inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel is fully committed to reaching an agreement to return its hostages from Gaza but faces obstruction from Hamas, a senior Israeli foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

"Hamas is the only obstacle to the release of the hostages," foreign ministry director general Eden Bar Tal told a briefing with reporters.

Both Israel and Hamas are under pressure from outgoing US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to reach a deal before the Jan. 20 inauguration. But the sides have come close before, only to have talks collapse over various disagreements.

Israel says about 100 hostages remain in Gaza — at least a third of whom it believes were killed during the Oct. 7 attack or died in captivity.

The first batch of hostages to be released is expected to be made up mostly of women, older people and people with medical conditions, according to the Israeli, Egyptian and Hamas officials.