BEIRUT: Lebanon faces growing concern over what officials describe as potential Israeli encroachment onto its offshore energy resources, after the Israeli military published a map extending its buffer zone into the Mediterranean, raising questions about the fate of the Qana gas field.
The map, released by the Israeli army on April 19 amid a fragile ceasefire with Hezbollah, outlines the deployment of its forces following their advance into parts of southern Lebanon, which Israel said was intended to prevent direct threats to its northern towns.
Israel’s newly delineated “Yellow Line,” which marks the expanded buffer zone about 5-10 km into Lebanese territory, appeared to extend not only across areas south of the Litani River — where Israeli forces pushed deeper during the recent war — but also into maritime areas, including waters linked to the Qana gas field.
The development has triggered alarm in Beirut, particularly as Lebanon had secured exploration rights in Qana under a US-brokered maritime border agreement with Israel in 2022, following years of complex negotiations.
Analysts and observers warned that Israel’s expansion of its operational map into the sea could signal a shift toward asserting influence over offshore resources, mirroring what they describe on land as the doctrine of “forward defense.”
Lebanon now faces the challenge of how to respond to what it sees as a new threat to its sovereignty both on land and its offshore economic lifeline.
Retired Brig. Gen. Mounir Shehadeh, former head of Lebanon’s Military Court, said Israel would face significant challenges in attempting to control or exploit offshore gas resources.
“Control over gas fields is not that simple. A field is not just a maritime space,” he told Arab News, noting that fields such as Qana (Block 9) require extensive infrastructure, including drilling and production platforms and the involvement of international companies such as TotalEnergies.
He stressed that any temporary military control would not translate into the ability to extract gas or derive economic benefit.
“Maritime operations differ fundamentally from land occupation. Israel may assert military pressure, but it cannot legally operate gas fields unilaterally without the participation of international firms,” Shehadeh said.
Any company working in a disputed area without a formal agreement risks sanctions and legal disputes, he added, warning that the political and financial costs would be considerable.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to establish a buffer zone extending from Lebanese territorial waters in the south to the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, via its Lebanese slopes.
In Lebanon, officials have described the move as Israel “reshaping the map of the region.”
Shehadeh warned that any attempt to seize Lebanese oil fields would amount to a major regional escalation and a direct threat to the Eastern Mediterranean’s economic infrastructure, one that could spark a far wider confrontation, not a one-off operation.
Addressing whether the maritime border demarcation prevents such a move, Shehadeh said that the 2022 agreement, mediated by US envoy Amos Hochstein, serves as a significant deterrent.
“It clearly defines the maritime boundary, Line 23, and implicitly recognizes Lebanon’s right to develop the Qana field,” he told Arab News.
There is also an indirect mechanism for sharing revenues in the event of a geological extension, but its boundaries remain to be determined.
The agreement, Shehadeh said, is not a full peace treaty, but what prevents military violations depends largely on political balance and deterrence, not just the law.
“To be more precise: the agreement makes it difficult for Israel to act unilaterally, but it does not prevent it on the ground if it decides to escalate.”
Israeli army soldiers stand next to their Humvees as they patrol along the border with southern Lebanon, in the Upper Galilee of northern Israel on April 17, 2026. (AFP)
Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Joe Saddi said the Israeli map “does not change any of the facts established by the maritime border demarcation agreement,” and that “the agreement remains in effect, with no official amendment.”
The maritime border demarcation agreement between Lebanon and Israel is legally binding on both signatories and has been registered with the UN.
Lawyer Christina Abi Haidar, an expert in energy and governance law, said it would be illegal for Israel to cancel it unilaterally.
“Legally speaking, any change to the agreement requires the consent of both parties,” she told Arab News. “The agreement also stipulates that any party objecting must file a complaint with the American side, which has not occurred. At this stage, no changes are permissible.”
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said in mid-March that the Israeli government was considering canceling the maritime border demarcation agreement.
Abi Haidar warned that no company would move forward with drilling operations while the country remains at war.
She said it remains unclear whether Block 9 has been formally awarded to the consortium or approved by the Lebanese government.
“Either way, as long as the country is in a state of war, this is no moment to be talking about investment,” she said.
Even if the fighting ends, any continued Israeli presence in the occupied border strip would require Lebanon to escalate the issue diplomatically, including at the UN and with the US as mediator, she added.
However, Lebanon’s situation is largely without precedent.
“Here you have a country technically at war with Israel, yet one that managed to strike a maritime demarcation deal through American mediation,” she said, pointing out that Israel has not signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea — a factor that complicated negotiations and ultimately led Lebanon to accept US involvement in reaching the current arrangement.
Israel, meanwhile, appeared to be seeking to establish a buffer zone stretching from the slopes of Mount Hermon in Syria to Lebanon’s territorial waters, a move that could give it significant leverage in future negotiations over offshore resources.
It also casts a long shadow over the maritime demarcation agreement with Lebanon and the fate of the oil and gas reserves lying beneath the seabed.
Shehadeh dismissed Israel’s Yellow Line as having no legal standing.
“It carries no weight under international law,” he told Arab News.
“It is a military and media tool aimed at creating new realities on the ground and expanding Israel’s room for maneuver.”
Lebanese protesters take part in a rally by sailing in boats with slogans in French affirming Lebanon's right to its offshore gas wealth, from the southern coastal city of Tyre towards Naqoura near the maritime border with Israel on September 4, 2022. (AFP file photo)
He said extending the line into maritime areas suggests an attempt to merge land and sea into a single “operational zone,” calling it a “bargaining tactic” rather than a legitimate claim of sovereignty, and an effort to sidestep the maritime demarcation agreement between the two countries.
On safeguarding Lebanon’s rights, Shehadeh stressed that neither legal measures nor military capabilities alone are sufficient.
“The equation is a mixture of the two,” he said, adding that diplomatic pressure, particularly from the US and Europe, remains essential, given Washington’s role as the agreement’s sponsor.
Shehadeh warned that any targeting of gas infrastructure could provoke a response from Hezbollah, underscoring the need to resolve the issue through agreement rather than force.
“So far, Israel has not completely broken the agreement because it realizes that doing so could trigger a wide confrontation and destabilize its own fields as well,” he said.
While Israel may exert pressure and maneuver politically and militarily, it cannot unilaterally seize or operate Lebanon’s gas resources.
“Lebanon’s real guarantees lie in the presence of international companies, American backing, and a balance of deterrence on the ground,” he added.
In January, before the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah broke out, Lebanon signed an agreement with a consortium comprising French TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy, and Italian Eni to explore for gas in Block 8.
This handout picture released by Energean oil and gas company on September 20, 2022 shows an Energean Floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) ship in the Karish field, an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean sea which is claimed by Israel and partly by Lebanon.
Lebanon has divided its exclusive economic zone into 10 blocks for oil and gas exploration. Seismic surveys have been conducted across most of them, with the exception of Block 8, which lies adjacent to the disputed maritime border with Israel.
According to unofficial estimates, Lebanon’s offshore gas reserves are estimated at 96 trillion cubic feet, and oil reserves at 865 million barrels.
Israel and Lebanon extended their shaky ceasefire by three weeks on Friday, President Donald Trump said, as the US remained at a standstill in negotiations with Iran to end the Middle East war.
Trump announced the truce extension as he met with ambassadors of the two countries and despite recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon and fresh rocket fire from Iran-backed Hezbollah, which was not part of the talks in Washington.
“I think there’s a very good chance of having peace. I think it should be an easy one,” Trump told reporters. The truce had initially been set to expire on Sunday.
Hezbollah reacted dismissively to Trump’s statement, warning that it would respond to any Israeli attacks.
Ali Fayad, an MP for the party, said extending the ceasefire “makes no sense” in light of continued “hostile acts” by Israel, saying they gave “the resistance the right to respond at the appropriate time.”
