Israelis prepare for expected attacks by Iran and Hezbollah

Israel is girding for widely anticipated retaliatory attacks by Iran and Hezbollah, telling its people this week to stock up on food and water in fortified safe rooms, while hospitals prepare to move patients to underground wards and search-and-rescue teams position themselves in major cities.

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The Israeli government's security Cabinet convened on the night of Aug 8 as speculation continued over how the country's enemies might respond to the killing of a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon, and of Hamas' top official while he was visiting Iran.

Diplomats across the Middle East and elsewhere have tried to tamp down the tensions amid fears that the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip could broaden into a much bigger conflict across the region.

Intelligence has been sparse and changes frequently. But two Israeli officials and a senior Western intelligence official said that based on the latest information, Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group closely allied with Iran, will likely strike first in a separate attack before Iran conducts its own retaliation.

They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, and did not provide further details about the potential attacks.

The latest crisis follows the assassinations last week of Fuad Shukr, a top Hezbollah military commander, and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' political leader.

Israel has said it killed Shukr in retaliation for a rocket attack from Lebanon that killed 12 children and teenagers, while refusing to comment on the blast that killed Haniyeh in Iran, which has been widely attributed to Israel.