US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has cautioned G7 counterparts that a potential attack by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel could occur as soon as Monday, according to Axios report.
In a move that could potentially escalate tensions in the region, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly called a meeting with top intelligence officials, including Mossad and Shin Bet heads David Barnea and Ronen Bar, as well as Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, to discuss the possibility of a preemptive strike on Iran to prevent an attack on Israeli soil, Times of Israel reported.
Hezbollah, established in the early 1980s with Iranian support, is Iran’s first proxy in the Middle East. Funded and armed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hezbollah aligns closely with Tehran’s ideology and recruits primarily from Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim community.
On Saturday, Iran announced that Hezbollah will escalate its attacks deeper into Israeli territory, potentially targeting more than just military sites. This follows Israel’s recent assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. On 30 July, Israeli airstrikes hit a densely populated residential area in southern Beirut, killing Shukr and five civilians.
The situation has been further complicated by the alleged assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a move attributed to Israel, although Israeli authorities have not confirmed it.
With months of cross-border skirmishes threatening to escalate into full-scale conflict, concerns are mounting. The last major conflict between Hezbollah and Israel was the 2006 war, which saw Israel bombing Lebanon’s only passenger airport in Beirut.
In response to the escalating violence, various embassies, including India’s, have advised their citizens to leave Lebanon while commercial flights are still available.
Hezbollah has engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces, targeting military positions since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on 7 October, sparking the ongoing war in Gaza. In response, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has convened a conference call with G7 foreign ministers to coordinate diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation.