US envoy needs more time in Lebanon-Israel maritime dispute

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. envoy mediating between Lebanon and Israel over the two countries’ disputed maritime border says some progress has been made but more work needs to be done to resolve the issue between the two nations. Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser for energy security at the U.S. State Department has been mediating between the two countries. He spoke on Friday after meeting Lebanese leaders. The visit comes amid tensions between Israel and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group over the gas-rich disputed sea region. The two countries have been officially at war since Israel’s creation in 1948 and both claim some 860 square kilometers — about 330 square miles — of the Mediterranean Sea.