Israel braces for attack as Iran vows punishment for Haniyeh’s death

Israel is braced for potential attacks by Iran and Hezbollah in the coming days with fears that assaults could come from several fronts.

Iran, its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas blame Israel for the killing in Tehran last Wednesday of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. His assassination came just hours after a strike claimed by Israel killed Hezbollah’s military chief, Fuad Shukr, on Tuesday evening near Beirut.

Israel has claimed responsibility for killing Shukr, but has not officially commented on Haniyeh, whose death Hamas, Iran and their allies have blamed on Israel.

Both Iran and Hezbollah have vowed revenge for the killings that came amid already explosive tensions against the background of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel that the Iran-backed terror group says are in support of Gaza.

The Israeli security establishment is on “peak alert” and members of a US-led international coalition — including Britain and allied Arab states — aimed at thwarting potential Iranian attacks on “several fronts” are braced to try to deter and intercept them.

One theory is that Iran will attack on Tisha B’Av, which walls on 12-13 August. Tisha B’Av is the Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the temples, traditionally associated with disasters for the Jewish people.