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A ROCKET onslaught could blast into Israel within hours as the region braces for Iran’s axis of evil to launch a huge revenge strike.
Israel took out two top Iranian proxy commanders last week and it’s now feared a massive Middle Eastern conflict is imminent.
Israeli’s Iron Dome could be set for another workout as a revenge strike looms EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon have heightened tensionsKAWNAT HAJU/AFP via Getty Images
There was mass support for Hezbollah at the funeral of slain top commander Fuad ShukrKHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images
Tit-for-tat rockets fired into both Israel and Lebanon have taken civilian casualtiesMAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images
The Western ally is surrounded by a “ring of fire” with Iran puppets Hezbollah emboldened by its arsenal of thousands of missiles.
Senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was last week blown away in Lebanon just hours before Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was taken out in Iranian capital Tehran.
Iran vowed revenge, leaving the Middle East on a knife’s edge as foreign governments urge citizens to leave the region.
US State Secretary Anthony Blinken told G7 countries that Iran and Hezbollah could launch an attack on Israel in hours, but it wasn’t clear how or precisely when, according to American news service Axios.
Israel believes it is facing a seven-front war with Iranian-funded forces causing havoc from Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, the Gaza strip and the West Bank, as well as Iran itself.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the coalition as “Iran’s axis of evil”.
He said last Wednesday: “This is an existential war against a stranglehold of terrorist armies and missiles that Iran would like to tighten around our neck.
“Challenging days are before us. Since the attack in Beirut, we have heard threats from all sides.
“We are prepared for any scenario, and we will stand united and determined against any threat.”
Iran researcher Dr Raz Zimmt told The Media Line the question is not whether Iran will retaliate but how major the response will be.
He said: “This time we might see a joint attack from Iran with other proxies.
“Iran will likely use UAVs and cruise missiles but will likely do so from a wider geographic area than it did in April when Iran launched its attack from the same area.
“If Israel will be dragged into a wider conflict, the more substantive threat is from Hezbollah, but a multi-front confrontation is definitely on the agenda.”
Iran’s “ring of fire” has made war “inevitable”, according to Tel Aviv University’s Middle East expert Professor Uzi Rabi.
He told the Jerusalem Post: “There is an existential threat, and it needs to be addressed as one body.
“Hamas is already crippled in every way, and this is how you defeat terrorist organisations. Hezbollah is bigger and more robust.
Former military general and intelligence expert Yossi Kuperwasser told the Israeli news outlet the chances of all-out war were not slim.
He said: “Iran has a wide range of options for their retaliation.
“All the sides understand that the chances of this conflict to deteriorate into a full-scale regional war are not small, despite everyone saying they have no interest in this.”
Hezbollah is estimated to have an arsenal of about 150,000 rockets at its disposal thanks to Iranian support.
US President Joe Biden was set to hold a crunch national security meeting on Friday and will then speak with Jordan’s King Abdullah about the escalating tension.
The Foreign Office has been urging Brits to leave Lebanon, with troops deployed to Cyprus in case of an emergency evacuation mission.
Canada, meanwhile, has told all citizens in Israel to leave.
More US fighter jets and warships are on their way to the region.
White House deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer told CBS it came as a bid to deter new attacks.
He said: “The overall goal is to turn the temperature down in the region, deter and defend against those attacks, and avoid regional conflict.”
A billboard shows the portraits of idolised slain leaders, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, Iranian Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani and Hezbollah senior commander Fuad ShukrIBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images
The region is braced for more deaths with wider war loomingEPA/STR
Southern Lebanon has become a rocket zone due to its proximity to Israel’s borderAFP via Getty Images
The Israeli navy has been patrolling the seas off the country’s portsOREN ZIV/AFP via Getty Images
English (US)