Embassy of India in Israel on Friday (August 2) issued an advisory for the Indian nationals living in the country to stay vigilant and "adhere to safety protocols". The latest advisory comes amid the escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon in the Middle East. Besides, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also ordered a direct assault on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, raising suspicions of yet another war in the region.
"In view of the prevailing situation in the region, all Indian nationals in Israel are advised to stay vigilant and adhere to the safety protocols as advised by the local authorities," Embassy of India in Israel posted on X.
Two-front tensions
Tensions with Lebanon, located in Israel's northern border, escalated after a rocket strike killed 12 children on a soccer field in Golan Height on July 28. The IDF struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon's Yater, which was being used to fire a barrage at the Western Galilee. The terror group's military chief Fuad Shukr was killed in Beirut in the counter attack.
Adding further to the tensions, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran last month. Iran and Hamas had accused Israel of the assassination, while Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its role. Israel has had a long history of killing enemies on foreign soil.
Notably, Iran came close to an all-out war with Israel in April, when it fired hundreds of missiles and drones in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on its embassy in Syria that killed several Iranian military commanders in Damascus. While it was the biggest direct attack by Iran in the decades of its shadow war with Israel, the damage was limited as almost all the weapons were shot down by Israel and its allies.
Haniyeh's death risks escalation of conflict
Haniyeh was killed by a missile that hit him "directly" in a state guesthouse where he was staying in Tehran while attending Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony, according to senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya. He was the face of Hamas' international diplomacy to represent the militant group at peace talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar during the nearly ten-month war in Gaza.
The suspected assassination by Israel of Hamas' Haniyeh in Iran on Wednesday and Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah's most senior military commander, in Beirut a few hours earlier increases the risk of a dangerous escalation in Israel's Gaza war and of a regional conflagration between Israel, Iran and its proxies.
