US warns G7 of potential Iran-Hezbollah attack on Israel: Reports
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken alerted G7 counterparts that Iran and Hezbollah might launch an attack on Israel as soon as Monday.
Meanwhile, in Israel reports stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration is considering a preemptive strike against Iran to thwart a potential attack on Israeli territory.
This discussion included top intelligence officials, such as Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, along with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.
Hezbollah, established in the early 1980s with Iranian support, was Iran's first proxy in the Middle East. It is funded and armed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), aligns with Tehran's core ideology, and recruits mainly from Lebanon's Shiite Muslim community.
Iran announced on Saturday that Hezbollah plans to intensify its attacks into Israeli territory, potentially targeting beyond just military sites. This escalation follows Israel's recent killing of a high-ranking Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, on July 30. Israel's strike on a crowded residential area in south Beirut, which resulted in Shukr's death along with five civilians, has further inflamed tensions.
The situation worsened with the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, reportedly by Israel, though Israeli officials have not confirmed this.
With ongoing cross-border clashes, fears are growing that the conflict could escalate into a full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel. The last major conflict between them occurred in the summer of 2006, during which Israel bombed Lebanon’s main airport in Beirut.
Due to the increasing danger, several embassies, including India's, are advising their citizens to evacuate Lebanon while commercial flights are still available.
- With inputs from agencies
