‘People are tense’: In Israel, fear amid likely Hezbollah, Tehran response

As people brace for an attack, there is anxiety but also resignation, Israel-based experts say.

Israelis are bracing for a response to the assassinations this week of Hamas’s political chief and a commander with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, Israel-based analysts tell Al Jazeera.

Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr and Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, who was a key figure in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, were killed within hours of each other in Beirut and Tehran respectively. Israel has not commented on Haniyeh’s killing but claimed Shukr’s. Israeli military planners said Shukr was behind a recent attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children although Hezbollah has denied responsibility.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has promised “harsh punishment” for Israel in retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh in the Iranian capital. Iran’s leaders have promised “harsh revenge“. As thousands in Tehran poured onto the streets to mourn the Hamas leader, top Iranian newspapers covered the event through themes of revenge, bereavement and defiance.

Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, meanwhile, said a response is “inevitable“.

Anticipating such a response, Israel’s military said it was on “high alert”, according to Israeli media. They reported Israel was looking to finalise an international coalition to help deflect an attack.