Iran-backed Hezbollah raises tensions in the north as Israel prepares to attack Hamas

Fears that the war could spread have been fuelled by growing clashes between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the country’s north.

Israeli soldiers patrol in armoured personnel carriers at an undisclosed position in northern Israel near the borer with Lebanon. Picture: AFP

Israeli troops and armoured ­vehicles have massed on the borders of Gaza in preparation for a massive ground assault amid growing clashes in the north between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces.

With the Middle East on a knife-edge, Joe Biden strongly backed Israel’s imminent invasion of Gaza, saying that “taking out the extremists” there was “a necessary requirement” after Hamas’s attacks last week that killed more than 1400 Israelis, mostly civilians. The US President, however, also warned Israel against permanently reoccupying Gaza after the military operation was complete, saying such a move would be a “big mistake”.

The US has stepped up efforts to prevent the Israeli-Hamas war from spilling into a wider regional conflict by sending a second aircraft carrier to the region and conducting a diplomatic blitz to calm other Arab nations.

Fears that the war could spread have been fuelled by growing clashes between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the country’s north.

Israel said it had struck Hezbollah military targets in Lebanon in retaliation for the terror group firing six anti-tank guided missiles towards an Israeli town and military outposts near the Lebanon border, killing at least one civilian and one soldier.

Hezbollah said the attacks were to show solidarity with its fellow terror group Hamas.

Late Monday, the Israeli military announced plans to evacuate residents at 28 settlements within 2km of Lebanon. If Hezbollah were to launch a full-scale attack on its neighbour, Israel would be forced to fight a war on two fronts at the same time. An Israeli government spokesman said attacks by Hezbollah were an attempt “to increase pressure at the will of Iran in order to undermine the efforts to destroy Hamas’s capability in the Gaza Strip”.

He said 300,000 Israeli reser­vists had been called up, with most positioned on the border with Gaza but some positioned in the north to deal with the threat posed by Hezbollah.

With the Israeli attack expected at any time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to visit Israel early on Tuesday (AEST) after a six-country tour through Arab nations to calm ­regional tensions ahead of the ground invasion which could result in huge casualties on both sides. The attack will be one of the most high risk military operations ever conducted by Israel, with its soldiers forced to confront Hamas militants in the dense urban confines of Gaza City where they will have to fight building by building and street by street.

Israel said almost 600,000 people had evacuated Gaza City and moved south to avoid the imminent Israeli attack, with another 500,000 people said to be taking refuge in schools, hospitals and other facilities across the territory.

A crowd of Palestinian people gathers next to a crater caused by an explosion from an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

An intense bombardment of Gaza by Israeli forces in preparation for the ground assault has killed more than 2670 Palestinians and wounded 9600 according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

“An unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding under our eyes,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees amid severe shortages of food and water after Israel blockaded the territory of just over two million.

Israel said it had agreed to restore the water supply to parts of southern Gaza but water was still cut off from northern Gaza. “We are on the verge of the abyss in the Middle East,” said António Guterres, the UN secretary-general.

Mr Biden warning Israel against permanently reoccupying Gaza after the military operation was complete took some by surprise, given his strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself from terror. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and despite Hamas’s takeover of the territory in 2007, Israel has not sought to reoccupy it.

“What happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again,” Mr Biden said.

Mr Biden is considering visiting Israel to demonstrate solidarity following an invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Tension is rising in the Arab world ahead of the ground offensive and a growing Gaza death toll.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt said Israel’s attack on Gaza had exceeded “the right of self-defence” and had turned into “a collective punishment.”

Israel has vowed to try to limit civilian casualties but high casualties are inevitable given how densely populated Gaza is.