US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned his counterparts from the G7 countries that an attack by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel could commence as early as Monday, Axios reported.
In Israel, however, the leading daily Times of Israel reported that the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government could sanction a preemptive strike on Iran to prevent an attack on Israeli soil. According to the report, Israel’s leading intelligence agencies Mossad and Shin Bet and their respective heads David Barnea and Ronen Bar, were part of a meeting called by Netanyahu that was also attended by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.
Hezbollah, established in the early 1980s with Iranian support, represents Iran's first proxy in the Middle East. Funded and armed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hezbollah shares Tehran's core ideology and recruits primarily from Lebanon's Shiite Muslim population.
Iran on Saturday said that Hezbollah will escalate its attacks deeper into Israeli territory, potentially targeting more than just military installations. The rapid escalation of tensions follows Israel's recent assassination of a senior Hezbollah military commander, Fuad Shukr. On July 30, Israel struck a densely populated residential area in south Beirut, killing Shukr and five civilians.
The situation is further complicated by the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a move attributed to Israel, although it has not been confirmed by Israeli authorities.
Concerns have heightened dramatically, as months of cross-border skirmishes risk devolving into a full-scale conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The two adversaries last engaged in a devastating war in the summer of 2006, which saw Israel bombing Lebanon's only passenger airport in Beirut.
The intensity of the current situation has led various embassies, including India's, to urge their citizens to leave Lebanon while commercial flights remain available.
Hezbollah has maintained near-daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces, targeting military positions since its Palestinian ally Hamas initiated an attack on Israel on October 7, triggering the ongoing war in Gaza.
In response to these developments, Antony Blinken convened a conference call with G7 foreign ministers to coordinate diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalating the situation, the report added.