Israel is facing heightened anxiety as security tensions intensify across multiple fronts, from Iran to Yemen and Lebanon, as well as the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated and blockaded for 19 years.
Israel’s Channel 13 reported that the Israeli military and security establishment have entered a state of maximum alert ahead of the upcoming holiday period and New Year, with tensions persisting across the various fronts.
According to a report by Or Heller, the current relative calm is regarded as little more than an illusion, with the war not considered over but rather having changed its form.
Preparations for Renewed Fighting
Iran remains what Channel 13 described as the “most important front”, with the Israeli military preparing for two possible scenarios: a resumption of fighting alongside the United States, or an operation carried out independently by the Israeli Air Force.
According to Israeli military assessments, the government in Tehran, increasingly backed into a corner, could attempt a step it has so far refrained from taking by launching missiles towards Israel. The Israeli Air Force is reportedly preparing for such a scenario on both defensive and offensive levels.
An expansion of the confrontation with Iran could also affect the Yemeni front and lead to additional missile launches by the Houthis, Channel 13 reported.
Meanwhile, on the northern front, the Israeli military destroyed tunnels in the Ali al-Taher mountain range in Lebanon on Thursday evening, a move that could provoke a response from Hezbollah and threats from Iran.
The channel said another round of talks with the Lebanese government is expected in the coming days, focusing on the possibility of expanding the scope of the Israeli military’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
The Israeli security establishment is also monitoring efforts in Syria to rebuild the Syrian army, alongside Turkey’s attempts to consolidate its presence in the country.
Following the destruction of the tunnels, an Israeli source said: “Israel has raised its level of readiness in both defensive and offensive fields following the demolition of the infrastructure, which included eight Hezbollah tunnels.”
Channel 13 also reported that Israel had conveyed a message to Hezbollah and Iran that it would respond “disproportionately” to any retaliation.
A “Matchstick” Away From Wider Escalation
Commenting on the Israeli military’s destruction of underground infrastructure in the Ali al-Taher heights in southern Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the site was “the largest Iranian military site outside Iranian territory”.
According to Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, the underground infrastructure stretched for more than two kilometres. It said dozens of missiles and rockets, drones, machine guns, dozens of anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of mines and explosive devices were discovered inside.
Kan said more than 1,100 tonnes of explosives were used to destroy the site, with the resulting blast causing a 4.1-magnitude tremor.
In the Gaza Strip, devastated by Israel’s continuing war of genocide, Channel 13 said the state of alert remains high over concerns that Hamas could attempt an armed incursion towards one of the Israeli military positions inside the “Yellow Line”.
The report added that the Israeli military’s primary concern is the potential entry into Gaza of drones operated through fibre-optic cables.
In the occupied West Bank, which Channel 13 described as an area requiring only “a matchstick to ignite a major fire”, 26 Israeli military battalions will remain deployed throughout the holiday period, constituting the majority of the forces stationed in the field.
