Israeli prime minister said on Monday that drilling operation at the Karish gas field would begin as soon as possible.

Iran PressMiddle East: Yair Lapid added that he believes a maritime deal with Lebanon over their sea border is possible, and the extraction will start regardless of the deal — in direct opposition to Lebanon's Hezbollah threats.

"Israel believes it is possible to reach an agreement on the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel in a way that will serve the interests of both sides," he said.

"The production of gas from the Karish rig is not related to the negotiations, and the rig will start producing gas as soon as is possible," the prime minister emphasized.

The Zionist regime's sources say that an agreement is close, according to Haaretz which added that the parties waiting for the final version to be drawn up and delivered by Hochstein to both parties, likely in the coming days.

In a speech delivered Saturday on Arbaeen, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah reiterated that extracting oil and gas off the Lebanese shore is a golden chance to cope with the current economic crisis.

"We won’t allow the Israeli enemy to extract oil and gas from Karish before restoring Lebanon’s legitimate rights," he said. "Hezbollah’s red line is the start of the Israeli extraction of gas in Karish."

He stated here that Hezbollah has recently delivered a strong message to the Zionist entity, warning that Tel Aviv will be facing real trouble in case it started gas extraction in the disputed field.

On July 3, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon flew three drones over the Karish maritime gas field over the disputed zone between Lebanon and the Zionist entity.

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