Lebanon's health care system, already battered by other crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the horrific explosion at Beirut port, now has to gear up for a possible wider conflict with Israel, Lebanon's Health Minister Firas Abiad told reporters.

Two Katyusha rockets were fired at al Asad airbase in western Iraq, according to two Iraqi security sources. One source confirmed the rockets landed inside the base.  It remains unclear if the attack is linked to Iran's threats of retaliation over the killing of a Hamas leader.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is contemplating a preemptive strike on Iran to thwart the impending assault, as reported by the Times of Israel.

Middle East tensions soared as Iran and its allies readied their response to the assassination of Hamas’s political leader, blamed on Israel, spurring fears of a regional war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed severe retaliation against Hezbollah after a rocket strike killed 12 children in the Golan Heights, amid diplomatic efforts to prevent a regional war.

According to Israeli authorities, it was the deadliest attack on an Israeli target along the country's northern border since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began. The attack has raised fears of a broader regional war.

A tragic incident occurred in Israeli-controlled Majdal Shams, where a rocket attack led to the deaths of 12 people. The attack, allegedly carried out by Iran-backed Hezbollah, has been reported by The Jerusalem Post. Among the deceased were children and teenagers, ranging in age from 10 to 20 years old.

Northern Israel was engulfed in chaos on Thursday morning as sirens blared across the Galilee region, signalling a sudden barrage of rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah.

"We are very close to the moment when we will decide to change the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has said.

The deceased is a 31-year-old Nibin Maxwell, Pathrose Maxwell’s son, from the Kollam region of Kerala, adding the remaining two injured are also from Kerala and were working on a farm in Israel.