Tehran is widely expected to hit back at Israel over targeted assassinations and attacks on Hezbollah but experts warn Iran has few easy options to avoid the risk of a wider war in the Middle East

Iran's U.N. envoy warned the country had the "right to take all necessary measures to respond to this egregious violation."

Israeli warplanes launched powerful air raids across much of southern Lebanon on Saturday, escalating attacks on Hezbollah militants as Israel’s military signaled it was preparing for a broader offensive.

The militant group said it targeted an air base and a developer of Israel’s Iron Dome system, while dozens of Israeli warplanes struck southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has launched over 100 rockets across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as the sides appeared to be spiraling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions.

The events of this week seem to indicate that Israel’s leaders have decided they can no longer live with the threat of Hezbollah on their northern border, analysts say.

War planners in Israel have accelerated their goal to return over as many as 100,000 displaced Israelis to the north because of Hezbollah terror attacks on the region.

Hundreds of thousands of people sought shelter from Hezbollah rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Sunday, the military said, as a UN official warned of imminent regional "catastrophe" from the worsening violence.

Israel is attempting a risky strategy, increasing the intensity of its attacks in an attempt to force Hezbollah to back down, while raising the chances of an aggressive response that devolves into a land war.