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- Israel has hinted that it may escalate its conflicts to a wider war in the Middle East.
- Tensions have been rising between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
- But the US has privately warned Israel it would struggle to win, the Washington Post reported.
With Israel's war in Gaza still raging, tensions have also been flaring between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah — and Israel hinting that a wider war may be on the horizon, according to a report from the Washington Post.
But the US has privately warned Israel that it might not stand a chance against the Iran-backed militants, the Post reported.
That's because the US thinks Israel's resources will be spread too thin in a broader conflict, the Post reported, citing two people familiar with a secret assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Attacks between Hezbollah and Israel have escalated over the past week since the death of a senior Hamas official on Lebanese soil, a targeted killing Hamas believes Israel orchestrated, NPR reported. The Israel Defense Forces has not confirmed it was behind the attack, according to NPR.
In retaliation, Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at northern Israel on Saturday, leading Israel to launch an airstrike back at Lebanon on Monday, killing an elite Hezbollah commander, the AP reported.
"We prefer the path of an agreed-upon diplomatic settlement," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday, according to the Washington Post. "But we are getting close to the point where the hourglass will turn over."
Hezbollah is not interested in escalating the conflict, US officials told the Washington Post.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, said on Friday that while he would respond to Israeli attacks, he is open to negotiations, the Post reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Israel on Monday to discuss de-escalation efforts, the Post reported.
"It is in no one's interest — not Israel's, not the region's, not the world's — for this conflict to spread beyond Gaza," Blinken's spokesman Matthew Miller said as he boarded the plane, according to the Post.