Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan on Monday called on the Security Council to condemn the Hezbollah drone launch at the Karish offshore natural gas field, warning such action could trigger wider escalation.
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The US is currently mediating a maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, surrounding their adjacent exclusive economic waters. The disputed area is about 330-square-mile wide, but the Karish rig sits completely in Israel's waters, making Hezbollah's July 2 drone launch a clear act of aggression.
"These UAV's were launched by Hezbollah from Lebanese territory to the Karish natural gas field, a critical civilian energy facility, in a deliberate attempt to threaten Israel and gather intelligence. This is a dangerous, hostile act, and serves as yet another provocation by Hezbollah that must be strongly condemned by the international community," Erdan asserted in a letter to the Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho, who currently chairs the Security Council.
The letter explains that the drones were sent to Lebanon by Tehran, which "demonstrates yet again the dangerous involvement and influence of Iran in Lebanon, and exposes Iran's malign intentions in the region."
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also made explicit threats against Israel's saying that the terrorist group "has the capacity to prevent Israel from beginning to extract natural gas from the Karish field, thus clearly spelling out its hostile intentions." The incident earlier this month "serves as evidence for the imminence and severity of these threats," Erdan explained.
Hezbollah's actions are a blatant violation of Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701, calling for a full cessation of hostilities between the Iranian proxy and Israel.
"Numerous public statements made by the international community in response, including by Lebanese officials, referred to Hezbollah's actions as unacceptable and dangerous," Erdan noted, adding that "the Karish gas reservoir is an essential component to Israel's ability to export natural gas."
The Israeli Navy affords the country's offshore gas rigs special defense measures. Last month, as a new natural gas processing rig was embedded in Karish prompting threats from Hezbollah, Navy vessels, including submarines, were deployed to the area to protect it.
Kan 11 News noted at the time that the naval version of the Iron Dome missile defense system was also slated to be deployed in the area.
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