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Israel and Lebanon ·

Israel–Lebanon maritime boundary agreement

A delimitation of a maritime boundary only, concluded through a US-mediated exchange of letters; it is not a peace treaty, not normalization and not an agreement on the land border, and Israel and Lebanon have no peace treaty.25

In 30 seconds

On 27 October 2022 Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid each separately signed documents accepting an American proposal to delimit the maritime boundary.1 The documents were handed to the mediator Amos Hochstein at Naqoura, with no direct contact between the delegations.1 The line at sea is agreed; the land border is not.2

Where it stands today

As of October 2026 the agreement is registered with the UN, and we found no announcement by either party that it has been cancelled.2 In January 2026 a consortium led by TotalEnergies was reported to have entered Block 8 off Lebanon's southern coast, in a report that describes the 2022 agreement as the basis for activity in the area.3

In one sentence

To set an agreed line in the Mediterranean so that both countries could explore for gas and produce it without risking a clash.

The challenge

Israel and Lebanon disputed about 860 square kilometres of the Mediterranean. The two countries have no diplomatic relations, and contacts ran through an American mediator.1

Israel wanted to produce gas from the Karish field, and Lebanon wanted to develop the prospect known as Qana, which straddles the line.1

The road there

  1. The United States presents both sides with a proposal for an agreement.1
  2. Gas production begins at the Karish field.1
  3. Aoun signs in Baabda and Lapid in Jerusalem; the documents are handed to Hochstein at UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, and the agreement enters into force.12
  4. Israel registers the agreement with the UN.2
  5. TotalEnergies drills the Qana prospect in Block 9; according to the company the well did not give positive results.3
  6. TotalEnergies, Eni and QatarEnergy are reported to have signed an agreement with the Lebanese government to enter Block 8.3

The people

What was agreed

  • An agreed maritime boundary line between the two countries, defined by coordinates; it is usually called "Line 23".24
  • Near the shore the status quo is kept along the "buoy line" that Israel laid in 2000.21
  • The agreement decides nothing about the land border.2
  • Lebanon develops the Qana prospect in Block 9; Israel receives its share through a separate arrangement with the operating company, not from Lebanon.13
  • Rights in Block 9 may be held only by international corporations that are not under sanctions and are neither Israeli nor Lebanese.3
  • The Karish field stays on the Israeli side of the line.14

Read the document

The geography

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Schematic map of Israel and its neighbours with line typesSYRIALEBANONGolan HeightsDamascusBeirut

Choose a country on the map or in the list. Use + and − to zoom. On touch screens, enable gestures to drag and pinch; scroll the page outside the map. Keyboard: arrows to pan, + and − to zoom, Home to reset.

Layers · Legend
  • International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
  • Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
  • 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
  • “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
  • Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
  • Other international boundary
  • West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
  • Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
  • UN area of separation (UNDOF)

Classification follows the original research as of 7 Oct 2026. This schematic map is not a legal boundary map or a live update.

  • International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
  • Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
  • 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
  • “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
  • Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
  • Other international boundary
  • West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
  • Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
  • UN area of separation (UNDOF)

Schematic map. Lines are approximate and are not a legal determination. Data: Natural Earth (public domain), 1:10m scale; line classification and place names by this site. Lines as of October 2026. Peace map

The hard decisions

  • Lebanon had earlier claimed a line further south, "Line 29", which cuts through the Karish field, and settled for Line 23; this is how a commentary published by the Carnegie Endowment describes it, and its author argues that the deal favours Israel.4
  • The delegations did not meet face to face even at the ceremony itself: each side handed its documents to the American mediator.1
  • According to an analysis by the OSW centre, Hezbollah came to terms with the need for a deal.1

What was carried out

  • The documents were signed and handed over on 27 October 2022, and the agreement was registered with the UN.12
  • Gas production at the Karish field began in October 2022.1
  • The Qana prospect in Block 9 was drilled, but according to TotalEnergies the well did not give positive results.3

What was not

  • The land border and the stretch near the shore were not settled: the agreement left them open.21

What remains open

  • The agreement deals with the sea only. The wars of 2024 and 2026 broke out after it (see the 2024 cessation of hostilities), and we found no verified source on how they affected offshore activity.
  • The agreement shows that even states without diplomatic relations can settle one practical issue with a mediator's help; it is no substitute for a peace treaty, and the land-border questions are being discussed on other tracks, including the 2026 framework document.1

Sources

  1. Research OSW Centre for Eastern Studies · 31 October 2022
    Israel-Lebanon: agreement on the delineation of the maritime border
  2. Primary United Nations, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea · 27 October 2022
    Exchange of letters constituting a maritime agreement between the State of Israel and the Lebanese Republic
  3. Press Rigzone · 12 January 2026
    TotalEnergies Gets New Block around Lebanon-Israel Border
  4. Research Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Sada) · 31 October 2022
    Hamzah Rifaat Hussain, commentary on Lebanon's maritime deal with Israel
  5. Primary הכנסת / The Knesset · 2022
    Maritime boundary agreement between Israel and Lebanon (copy tabled in the Knesset; supplied by the site owner, not opened from this environment) not opened from the build environment

Further reading