Israeli anticipation after targeting Al-Tabtabai and a potential escalation on the northern front.

The Israeli occupation army raised its level of alert and reinforced its defense systems less than a day after targeting the military leader of Hezbollah, in anticipation of any potential response from the party, while preparations are underway for a preemptive operation inside Lebanon, leaving the possibility of no response open, without negating the need to study various scenarios and enhance readiness for them.

The Israeli newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" predicted that the targeting of Yusuf Ali Tabtabai, who is considered the second-in-command in Hezbollah and acting chief of staff, opened a wide door to possibilities of retaliation, as the occupation army is continuously assessing the situation, raising its readiness, and supporting its air defense system, with probabilities including launching missiles at the home front, or attempting infiltration or airstrikes in the north or on army positions inside Lebanon, or even from the Houthis, while another possibility is that the party may not respond at all.

The newspaper indicated in a report translated by "Arabi21" that the occupation army is preparing to carry out a short preemptive operation inside Lebanon, following a year since the ceasefire agreement in the north that included disarming the party, including through the Lebanese army, which has not been practically implemented so far.

The Israeli occupation army sees itself approaching the biggest test of the "zero containment" policy it adopted after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The newspaper noted that Hezbollah has not issued a direct threat following the assassination operation, while the occupation's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he "will not allow the party to rebuild its strength," demanding the Lebanese government to fulfill its commitments in the agreement and disarm it.

In contrast, the Chief of Staff of the occupation, Eyal Zamir, hinted at the possibility of carrying out a military operation, confirming that "there will be no containment, and we may request to return to fighting in the arenas we have previously engaged in," and these developments are considered, according to the newspaper, a serious escalation that may open the door for the return of confrontations.

On the other hand, Lebanese media viewed the targeting of Tabtabai as an indicator of the potential expansion of the security explosion, considering that the operation bears signs of a return to war, prompting some Lebanese to consider leaving the country.

It was reported that the attack is the first of its kind on the southern suburb since June, dubbed "Black Friday," and about four hours after the operation, the occupation army announced the targeting of Tabtabai and released a recording of the attack, while Hezbollah did not issue any direct threat in response to the assassination operation.

The newspaper pointed out that Tabtabai was considered a high-profile and mysterious figure within Hezbollah, noting that the United States classified him in October 2016 as a "specially designated global terrorist" under a presidential order, and the State Department offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to him, while freezing all his assets and properties within the United States, and imposing a comprehensive ban on any entity there from dealing with him.