Israel and Iran exchanged direct fire overnight, raising fears that the two-month ceasefire could give way to renewed fighting. Iran fired missiles at Israel Sunday night, Israel struck military targets in western and central Iran hours later, and further alerts were triggered Monday morning.

The immediate question for Israel is whether this remains a limited exchange or becomes a new round of direct conflict with Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now weighing Israel’s next move while President Donald Trump is pressing Israel not to strike again, warning that another Israeli response could harm U.S.-Iran negotiations.

The escalation followed weeks of continued Hezbollah rocket, drone and anti-tank attacks on northern Israeli communities and IDF positions despite the ceasefire. Israel responded with a strike in Beirut, arguing that it could not allow Hezbollah to continue targeting the north without consequence. Iran then launched missiles toward Israel, and the Israeli Air Force struck military targets belonging to the Iranian regime in western and central Iran.

After the Israeli strikes, further alerts were triggered in several areas of Israel on Monday morning.........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)