The Lebanese Army announced that it is coordinating with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) concerning reported Israeli violations of its territorial waters.
As relayed by Lebanon’s National News Agency on the same day, the Lebanese military command stated that Israeli naval forces breached Lebanese waters twice on Thursday, with each intrusion lasting over 30 minutes.
The statement specified that “on 21/9/2023, from 7:45 AM to 9:25 AM, two breaches were recorded off Ras al-Naqoura by two Israeli warships, covering a distance of approximately 222 meters for 30 minutes.”
The Lebanese military’s official announcement further emphasized its ongoing coordination with UNIFIL to address the Israeli maritime violations. Notably, similar events occurred last month.
On 26 August, the Lebanese Army announced an Israeli warship’s breach off Ras al-Naqoura in southern Lebanon. The report detailed the intrusion on “An Israeli warship breached Lebanese territorial waters, covering roughly 300 meters off Ras al-Naqoura,” with the incident being monitored in conjunction with UNIFIL.
On the same day of the last reported breach, the Israeli military launched a drone over the Lebanese Kfarshouba Hills region.
Media outlet “Al-Mayadeen” highlighted Israeli forces’ activities on the border near Kfarshouba and the deployment of the drone over the Kfarshouba Hills area.
On 2 August, Israeli forces fired shots on the Lebanese-Israeli border. The news agency detailed that the Israeli enemy forces fired shots in the air, seemingly as a deterrent, from the Al-Abbad hostile position towards Lebanese territories.
A week ago, Tel Aviv called for an expanded scope of operations for UNIFIL in South Lebanon, aiming to monitor Hezbollah’s military positions.
Last year, with U.S. mediation, Lebanon and Israel signed an agreement demarcating maritime boundaries between the two nations.