Nasrallah: Hezbollah to "remain vigilant" until Lebanon-Israel maritime border deal officially signed

Hezbollah will "remain vigilant" until a deal demarcating a disputed maritime border between Lebanon and Israel is officially signed, its leader said.

The two countries have come to an agreement after years of US-mediated negotiations, officials said on October 11, according to The New Arab.

Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah has said it would submit to the Lebanese government's official position on the maritime deal but has also threatened Israel if the agreement does not secure Lebanon's rights.

A senior Lebanese government official and an official close to Hezbollah said the group had agreed to the terms of the deal and considered negotiations to be "over."

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said his movement would only recognise the deal once it was officially signed.

Until then, Nasrallah said, "we will remain vigilant".

The deal does not touch on the two countries' shared land border, where Israel and Hezbollah have clashed repeatedly in recent decades. While limited in scope, a finalised deal would mark a significant compromise between neighbours with a history of war and hostility, opening the way for offshore energy exploration and easing a source of recent tensions.

"This is a historic achievement that will strengthen Israel's security, inject billions into Israel's economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border," Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement.

In Lebanon, President Michel Aoun said the terms of the final US proposal were satisfactory and he hoped the deal would be formally announced as soon as possible.

Lebanese negotiator Elias Bou Saab told Reuters the latest draft "takes into consideration all of Lebanon's requirements and we believe that the other side should feel the same".

US President Joe Biden called both Aoun and Lapid on Tuesday to congratulate them.

The agreement is meant to resolve a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean sea in an area where Lebanon aims to explore for natural gas.

Israel is already producing natural gas in fields nearby. It sets a border between Lebanese and Israeli waters for the first time and also establishes a mechanism for both countries to get royalties from TotalEnergies' exploration of an offshore gas field that straddles the boundary.