What would war between Israel and Hezbollah mean for the Middle East?

The decades-long, low-intensity conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah has become more volatile since the Hamas attack of October 7, but any escalation would be catastrophic

An Israeli flag flutters next to a fire burning in an area near the border with Lebanon last week. Scores of rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Wednesday morning, hours after Israeli airstrikes killed four officials from the militant Hezbollah group, including a senior military commander. Picture: AP/Leo Correa

How dangerous is the situation right now?

The situation on the border between Israel and Lebanon has been precarious for months, with tit-for-tat exchanges of cross-border fire becoming a regular occurrence between Israel and Hezbollah (the “Party of God”).