“Israel had discussed attacking Iranian military targets with allies, including the UK, prior to Saturday morning’s attack,” according to a Western diplomat briefed on the situation. Israeli open sources state that 20 military sites were hit and Iranian officials have confirmed that four Iranian soldiers were killed, who were believed to be operating at air defence sites.

An attack on thousands of Hizbullah operatives simultaneously is a declaration of war,” wrote the Israeli journalist Avi Issacharoff in Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot today. Issacharoff is now famous as a co-creator of Fauda (“Chaos”), a gritty Israeli drama series covering an undercover Israeli military unit that dresses as Palestinians, the Musta’aravim (those who pretend to be Arabs). Yesterday’s attack in Lebanon could have come straight from the scriptwriters.

“We are edging ever closer to war across the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon. It’s not in anyone’s interests but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen,” an Israeli analyst told Field over the weekend.

“Iran isn’t going to attack again. It’s all up to Israel what happens next,” a Western security source told Field.”

There’s a 50-50 chance of a war between Hizbullah and Israel”, a Western security source based in the region told us 10 days ago.