Will Lebanon's heavily armed Hezbollah join the Israel-Hamas war? The answer could well determine the direction of a battle that is bound to reshape the Middle East.

Hezbollah, which like Hamas is supported by Iran, has so far been on the fence about joining the fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip's Islamic militant rulers. For the past six days, Israel has besieged Gaza and hammered the enclave of 2.3 million Palestinians with hundreds of airstrikes in response to a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel.

The chance of Hezbollah scaling up involvement in the war against Israel could hinge on any Israeli ground invasion of Gaza after a bloody attack by Hamas on southern Israeli communities, analysts said.

Militants from the Palestinian group Hamas stormed over Gaza's border on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people in Israel mostly civilians, and taking 150 hostages, in the deadliest attack on the country since its founding 75 years ago.

Cabinet convenes today, Thursday, to discuss the situation in Gaza, after a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel killed more than 1,200 people in Israeli towns and communities around the enclave.

Israel has launched a withering air campaign killing around 1,200 people in Gaza, as it announced a "complete siege" on the strip, cutting off water, fuel and electricity supplies.

Sitting idly outside their home in a south Lebanon town largely emptied of its residents, Shadia Abu Khalil and her mother sipped coffee as rocket fire pierced the Wednesday morning calm.

The two women are among the last remaining residents of Qlaileh in the Tyre district, used by militants to launch attacks against Israel in recent days.

A potential intervention by Hezbollah and uncertainty over the role played by Iran itself are risk factors that could push the unprecedented conflict between Israel and Hamas into a wider regional war, analysts say.

For now, there is no indication of an impending offensive by Hezbollah against Israel, despite growing border tensions.

Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel and the war it launched has raised new questions about the influence of its main sponsor, Iran, and whether it had anything to do with the assault.

From Tel Aviv to Washington, however, no one is willing to directly blame Iran as they say they lack direct evidence. Tensions between the Islamic Republic and the West remain high over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. In Tehran, even its supreme leader has denied the country being involved while praising what he described as the "capable, smart and courageous" militants who killed more than 1,000 Israelis and for the first time took over 100 civilians and soldiers as hostages.

Less than three weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat beside President Joe Biden and marveled that a "historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia" seemed within reach — a diplomatic advance that he predicted could lead to lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Biden was equally optimistic, telling Netanyahu during their meeting in New York, "If you and I — 10 years ago — were talking about normalization with Saudi Arabia, I think we'd look at each other like, 'Who's been drinking what?'"

For Palestinians in Gaza, Israel's eyes are never very far away. Surveillance drones buzz constantly from the skies. The highly-secured border is awash with security cameras and soldiers on guard. Intelligence agencies work sources and cyber capabilities to draw out a bevy of information.

But Israel's eyes appeared to have been closed in the lead-up to an unprecedented onslaught by the militant Hamas group, which broke down Israeli border barriers and sent hundreds of militants into Israel to carry out a brazen attack that has killed hundreds and pushed the region toward conflict.

There will be only one winner in the war that has broken out between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. And it is neither Israel nor Hamas.

In an operation coined "the Al-Aqsa Storm," Hamas, whose formal name is the Islamic Resistance Movement, fired thousands of rockets into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters infiltrated Israel by land, sea and air. Hundreds of Israelis have been killed, more than 2,000 injured, and many taken hostage.

With its surprise attack against Israel, Hamas has violently shifted the world's eyes back to the Palestinians and dealt a severe blow to momentum to secure a landmark U.S.-brokered deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The Iranian-backed Islamist militants who run the impoverished, blockaded Gaza Strip on Saturday fired thousands of rockets and infiltrated forces into Israel, 50 years after Arab states' assault on Israel during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.