Hezbollah to attack Israel before Iran: US intel

Hezbollah will strike Israel in the coming days, without Iranian coordination, according to new intelligence.

By World Israel News Staff

Hezbollah may attack Israel in an assault independent of its patron, Iran, as Israel gears up for retaliatory strikes following the assassination of two high-profile terror commanders.

On July 31st, Israeli airstrikes killed Fuad Shukar, a senior military commander in Hezbollah. Hours later, in a bombing widely attributed to Israel, Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh was slain in Tehran.

Since the killings, Israel has girded for retaliatory assaults from Hezbollah and Iran, which some analysts speculated would come as a coordinated, multi-day attack on several fronts.

In the wake of American pressure, recent reports have suggested that Tehran is rethinking the scale and intensity of its response.

But Hezbollah, still smarting from the humiliation of an airstrike in the heart of Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, is reportedly seeking revenge without Iran’s approval.

Two intelligence sources told CNN that “Hezbollah looks increasingly like it may strike Israel,” in an assault that would be “independent of whatever Iran may intend to do.”

One source explained to the outlet that Hezbollah is preparing more quickly than Iran for an assault on Israel, and planning to launch their attack in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Iran still has not decided on the nature or timing of its attack, the source claimed.

A U.S. intelligence official appeared to contradict that claim, telling that CNN that Iran appeared to have made preparations for an imminent attack, such as moving missile launchers.

The second source stressed that due to Hezbollah’s close proximity to Israel, in neighboring Lebanon, the group does not need to make significant advance preparations in order to strike.

They added that “there is a sense among some officials” that Hezbollah and Iran aren’t on the same page regarding an attack on Israel.

Through American interlocuters, Israel recently warned Hezbollah that an attack which wounds or kills Israeli civilians would trigger a “disproportionately” devastating counter-strike on Lebanon.