Israel and Hezbollah play with fire but neither wants another war

The war in Gaza is another reason why Israel’s government might be nervous of opening up a second, much tougher war with Hezbollah at the same time.

But this month it raised the cap on the number of reservists it could call on, from 300,000 to 350,000, fuelling speculation that a war in the north had not been ruled out.

The government is also trying to prolong a temporary extension of reserve duty, adding a year onto the age limit at which troops can be called on to serve.

And targets on both sides have continued to widen over the past eight months, as cross-border strikes have intensified.

The days leading up to Eid saw a furious volley of drones and rockets from Lebanon, after Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander, Taleb Abdallah.

That followed a month of spiralling attacks by Hezbollah, with an increase in anti-tank missiles and drones sent across the border.

The growing tit-for-tat conflict risks tripping the two sides into war, if a target is seen as too sensitive, or the casualties too high.

So far, the UN says more than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon, including many civilians. At least 25 people – soldiers and civilians – have been killed in Israel.