Tensions continue to climb in the Middle East following the recent killing of top leaders in Hezbollah and Hamas.
Iran and the allied Lebanese Hezbollah group say they are committed to launching retaliatory strikes on Israel in response to the alleged assassinations. The U.S. is aiming to ease tensions in the region as negotiators prepare to resume cease-fire talks on Thursday.
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When Iran attacked Israel in April, it was a largely failed attack because all of Iran's drones were shot down by the U.S., Israel, and other countries. But in that incident, Tehran was seemingly holding back and didn't activate its proxies in Lebanon.
The White House is now concerned that if Iran and Hezbollah decide to attack simultaneously, it could be a very different story. The deputy leader of Lebanese Hezbollah has said that his militants are preparing for a full-scale conflict with Israel, something that hasn't happened between the two sides in nearly two decades.
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When Israel and Hezbollah clashed in 2006, the war effectively ended in a draw. Since then, however, Iran and its allies have bolstered their arsenal.
Hezbollah now reportedly has more than 150,000 rockets, including some precision-guided missiles. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces assess that Hezbollah's fighting force is composed of 25,000 full-time fighters with tens of thousands more in reserve.
In terms of conventional warfare, Israel still has a vast advantage over Hezbollah. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows that if the adversary along his country's northern border does attack, it would likely conduct guerilla warfare and take Israeli soldiers as hostages to use as human shields.
