Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesIs a wider Middle East war — expanding beyond the borders of Gaza and Israel — inevitable? An all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah — the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shia militant organization designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. and UK — would be devastating for both sides. Lebanon, meanwhile, is in the midst of economic and political crisis, its infrastructure wholly unprepared for a new war. Evelyn Hockstein | Afp | Getty ImagesFor Charles Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser, war between Israel and Hezbollah is practically a foregone conclusion. But, he warned, "The war in Gaza pales in comparison to what a war with Hezbollah would look like.

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Persons: Wissam tawil, Antony Blinken, Evelyn Hockstein, Charles Freilich, Freilich, Nimrod Novik, Hassan Nasrallah, Israel —, Naim Qassem, Wissam Tawil, Mahmoud Zayyat Organizations: Iranian, Getty, Israeli Air Force, State Department, Jan, Hezbollah, U.S, Afp, Haaretz, Israel Policy Forum Locations: Lebanese, Khirbit, Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, Red, . Washington, Doha, Tel Aviv, Kherbet Selm