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Israel braces for Iranian attack that could come 'within hours' as Hezbollah missile barrage injures two IDF soldiers amid growing fears of all-out-war in the Middle East
Iran is expected to attack Israel in the next 24 to 48 hours following a major attack by Hezbollah that left two IDF soldiers injured, top western diplomats have warned.
American news outlet Axios reported that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the US' highest ranking diplomat, told the G7 yesterday that an attack in response to Israel killing Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Fuad Shukr in Beirut, was imminent.
This would be the second time during the growing crisis in the Middle East that Iran has directly attacked Israel, the first being in April when it sent a salvo of missiles and drones overnight.
But unlike the April attack, the US admitted in a private call with G7 members that it doesn't know what the expected retaliatory strike will look like.
Nevertheless, Iran has clearly signalled that it intends to attack its foe.
Iran claimed today that it has the 'legal right' to respond to Haniyeh's assassination, with foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani telling a news conference: 'No one has the right to doubt Iran's legal right to punish the Zionist regime.'
Stark footage from the region showed the Iron Dome system firing defensive missiles to intercept the barrage
Benjamin Netanyahu's (pictured) Israel is expecting an attack in the next 24 to 48 hours
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured) is set to attack Israel imminently
The head of the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami, meanwhile threatened Israel, warning that the state was 'digging its own grave' by carrying on its war against terror group Hamas.
'They will see the result of their mistake. They will see when, how and where they will get their response,' Salami said in a speech.
The threats from Iran comes just hours after Hezbollah, backed by the Iranian regime, launched a silo of 30 missiles from Lebanon towards upper Galilee.
Stark footage from the region showed Israel's Iron Dome air defence system firing defensive missiles to intercept the barrage.
Despite this, two Israeli troops were wounded in the attack, which also set off a fire in northern Israel.
Hezbollah said in a statement it targeted a military base in northern Israel in response to 'attacks and assassinations' carried out by Israel in several villages in south Lebanon.
Two Israeli troops were wounded in the attack, which also set off a fire in northern Israel
The Iron Dome intercepted many of the missiles sent by Hezbollah
A man holds Palestinian, Lebanese and Hezbollah flags next to a damaged site where top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed following an Israeli strike on July 30
A view of the damaged site where top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed following an Israeli strike on July 30
The escalating tensions between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran have led to growing fears of an all-out war breaking out in the Middle East between Israel and Tehran's proxies.
Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation is already in a 'multi-front war' with Iran, adding in a Cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel is ready for any scenario.
Netanyahu has also been accused of not being 'sincerely interested in a ceasefire', as Hamas' Haniyeh was the terror group's lead ceasefire negotiator.
Middle East expert Andreas Krieg said that his killing, as well as Shukur's, collapsed months of work done by American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Despite the increasingly war-focused rhetoric and the diminishing hoped of a permanent ceasefire, many of Israel's allies are working to de-escalate tensions in the region.
The US said on the G7 call on Sunday that its choice to increase its military capability in the region was to bolster defence.
It was also reported to have asked the other members to apply diplomatic pressure on Israel, Iran and Hezbollah in an attempt to diffuse tensions.
A car drives past a poster depicting late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, top commander of Iran's Quds Force Qassem Soleimani and Hezbollah top commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, Lebanon
Yemenis wave flags and lift placards of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike, and slain Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, during a rally in the Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa on August 2, 2024
The G7 ministers said in a statement: 'We express our deep concern over the heightened level of tension in the Middle East which threatens to ignite a broader conflict in the region.
'We urge all involved parties to refrain from perpetuating the current destructive cycle of retaliatory violence, to lower tensions and engage constructively towards de-escalation. No country or nation stands to gain from further escalation in the Middle East.'
In the meantime, several nations have commanded their citizens to leave the region amid fears that diplomatic measures to counter rising tensions fail.
Japan and Turkey today told their citizens to leave Lebanon, while France and Italy told their citizens to leave a day prior.
The UK, meanwhile, sent warships and military aircraft to the region to assist a potential evacuation of British citizens.
Several Royal Air Force transport helicopters and two naval ships are on standby in the eastern Mediterranean including the Type 45 air-defence destroyer HMS Duncan and the RFA Cardigan Bay, a transport ship that can deploy landing craft.
The Ministry of Defence said it is deploying military personnel 'to provide embassies with operational support to help British nationals'.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 39,583 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.