TEL AVIV/GAZA   -   Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday warned Lebanon of the steep price it would pay if Hezbollah makes do on threats to retaliate forcefully against Israel for the killing of a senior commander.

“As things stand, [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah may drag Lebanon into paying extremely heavy prices. They can’t even imagine what might happen,” Gallant said during a visit to troops of the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade. “This may also deteriorate into a war. It’s not theoretical, it’s real,” he added, according to a statement from his office. Speaking to Israeli Air Force personnel at the Tel Nof airbase, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Israel is on high alert and will be able to launch a quick response to any attack. “We will know how to launch a very quick attack anywhere in Lebanon, anywhere in Gaza, anywhere in the Middle East, aboveground and belowground,” Halevi said.

“We will send a very clear message to our enemies, those who attack us, those who in every speech talk about how they seek to destroy the State of Israel. We will strike them, and we will continue to grow stronger,” he added.

Turning to Hamas’s Gaza leader, who was promoted to head of the terror group’s politburo after the assassination of Haniyeh, Halevi asserted that Yahya Sinwar’s new title wouldn’t prevent Israel from hunting him down.

“Yahya Sinwar yesterday received a new title, he is the head of the political bureau of Hamas. This title, a political one, will not absolve him from the fact that he is a murderer who was involved in the entire planning and execution of what happened on October 7,” the IDF chief said

Israeli officials increasingly believe it will be Hezbollah, rather than Iran, that will be first to launch a major attack on Israel in the coming days, Channel 12 reports. Without citing sources, the network also says Israel has conveyed to both Hezbollah and Iran that any harm to civilians in Israel during their promised retaliation for the killing of top terror leaders will be a red line, which will lead to a disproportionate response.

Egypt has instructed all of its airlines to avoid Iranian air space for a three-hour period in the early morning on Thursday amid tension between Israel and Iran. The NOTAM, a safety notice provided to pilots on Wednesday, says the instruction would be in effect from 0100 to 0400 GMT. It provides no further details as to why the notice was issued.

“All Egyptian carriers shall avoid overflying Tehran (Flight information Region) FIR. No flight plan will be accepted overflying such territory,” the notice says, referring to the three-hour period provided.