Middle East crisis: Israel may target Iran directly over Hezbollah, says expert

The tension between Iran and Israel continues in the Middle East and beyond the region. Although the Tehran side declares that it is in favour of stability in the region, the Israeli side blames the proxy forces belonging to the IRGC, i.e. Hezbollah and Houthi forces, for armed attacks and terrorist incidents.

The death of 11 civilians as a result of a rocket fired from the direction of Lebanon towards the Golan Heights further infuriated the Israeli side and caused it to take retaliatory measures. The Israeli government called the Majdal Shams incident a massacre and said it was committed by Iran's Hezbollah forces.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who made a statement immediately after the incident, said that “Hezbollah will definitely pay a heavy price” for causing this incident. Government officials, especially Israel's Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, directly accused Iran and said that this would lead to a direct war.

According to Israeli journalist and political commentator Rachel Avraham, the latest incident may result in a direct war between Israel and Iran. She called the activities of Hezbollah and the Houthis, which are part of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a threat to the region.

Rachel noted that Hezbollah has recently targeted Israel's northern territories. These attacks, which have become routine, have already caused the death of dozens of civilians and the destruction of economically important areas.

"I don't see any other alternative than war. I think it's time to enter Lebanon and neutralize Hezbollah there," Avraham told Azernews.

It is significant to note that after the rocket attacks on Majdal Shams, the Israeli Air Force carried out operations in Lebanon as a retaliatory measure. The Israeli military said Sunday its aircraft had carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon following a deadly rocket strike on a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.