Lebanese Ministers Expand Claim over Disputed Maritime Area with Israel

A United Nations naval ship is pictured off the Lebanese coast in the town of Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, Oct. 14, 2020. (Reuters)
A United Nations naval ship is pictured off the Lebanese coast in the town of Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, Oct. 14, 2020. (Reuters)
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Lebanese Ministers Expand Claim over Disputed Maritime Area with Israel

A United Nations naval ship is pictured off the Lebanese coast in the town of Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, Oct. 14, 2020. (Reuters)
A United Nations naval ship is pictured off the Lebanese coast in the town of Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon, Oct. 14, 2020. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister on Monday approved a draft decree expanding the country’s claims in a dispute with Israel over their maritime border that has held up hydrocarbon exploration in the potentially gas-rich area.

Hassan Diab signed off on the document after both the minister of public works and the minister of defense earlier agreed to it.

The amendment would add around 1,400 square km (540 square miles) to the exclusive economic zone claimed by Lebanon in its original submission to the United Nations.

The draft decree relating to the amendment of the initial decree 6433 of 2011 has now been referred to the presidency for approval ahead of a request to the United Nations for a formal claim to register the new coordinates for the maritime zone.

Negotiations between old foes Lebanon and Israel were launched in October to try to resolve the dispute, yet the talks, a culmination of three years of diplomacy by the United States, have since stalled.

“I expect it (the decree) will be signed as everyone, the minister of defense and the prime minister and the president, are concerned about this,” minister of public works Michel Najjar told a news conference earlier on Monday.

Israel already pumps gas from huge offshore fields but Lebanon has yet to find commercial gas reserves in its own waters.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Lebanon’s latest move would derail the talks rather than help work towards a common solution. “Unilateral Lebanese measures will, of course, be answered with parallel measures by Israel,” he said in a statement.

Lebanon, in the throes of a deep financial meltdown that is threatening its stability, is desperate for cash as it faces the worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.

“We will not give up any inch of our homeland or a drop of its waters or an inch of its dignity,” Najjar said.



Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill at Least 17 Palestinians

Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense remove debris as they search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense remove debris as they search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
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Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill at Least 17 Palestinians

Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense remove debris as they search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense remove debris as they search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Israeli strikes on the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 17 Palestinians early Monday, according to local health officials.

Israel has carried out daily strikes on Gaza since ending its ceasefire with Hamas last month. It has cut off the territory's 2 million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, since the beginning of March in what it says is an attempt to pressure the militant group to release hostages.

The daily bombardment and widespread hunger is taking a heavy toll on Gaza's most vulnerable residents, including pregnant women and children.

An airstrike hit a home in Beit Lahiya, killing 10 people, including a Palestinian prisoner, Abdel-Fattah Abu Mahadi, who had been released as part of the ceasefire, The Associated Press reported. His wife, two of their children and a grandchild were also killed, according to the Indonesian Hospital, which received the bodies.

Another strike hit a home in Gaza City, killing seven people, including two women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service. Two other people were wounded.