US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Biden visits Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Fears that the Israel-Hamas war could mushroom into wider Middle East conflict rose on Sunday with Washington warning of a significant risk to US interests in the region as ally Israel targeted terrorists in Gaza and clashes on its border with Lebanon intensified.

Israel has been launching airstrikes against Hamas targets in Gaza after the Palestinian terrorist group’s deadly infiltration into the Jewish state on Oct. 7.

In neighboring Syria — where Hamas’ main regional backer Iran has a military presence — Israeli missiles hit Damascus and Aleppo international airports early on Sunday, putting both out of service and killing two workers, Syrian state media said.

Along Israel‘s northern border with Lebanon, the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah has clashed with Israeli forces in support of Hamas in the deadliest escalation of frontier violence since an Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

Hezbollah said four fighters were killed in heavy exchanges of fire on Sunday and another died of wounds sustained earlier, raising to 24 the number of its members killed since Oct. 7.

Lebanese security sources said 11 fighters with Palestinian terrorist groups in Lebanon had also been killed in the volatile border region, alongside four civilians. At least five Israeli soldiers and one civilian have been killed on Israel‘s side of the frontier, according to Israeli military reports.

With violence around its heavily guarded borders increasing, Israel on Sunday added 14 communities close to Lebanon and Syria to its evacuation contingency plan in the north of the country.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that Washington would send more military assets to the Middle East in support of Israel and strengthen the US defense posture in the region after “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces” — a reference to Hezbollah, Palestinian, and other terrorists.

Austin told ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday: “We’re concerned about potential escalation. In fact, what we’re seeing … is the prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region.”

“If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation … our advice is: don’t,” he added.

US President Joe Biden on Sunday held a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the conflict, the White House said. Biden also spoke with Pope Francis, discussing “the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East,” the White House said.

Netanyahu said French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will visit Israel this week.

Washington has deployed a significant amount of naval power to the Middle East of late, including two aircraft carriers, support ships, and about 2,000 Marines, to help deter attacks by Iran-affiliated forces that could inflame the wider region.

Austin said a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and extra Patriot air defense missile system battalions will be sent to the region and more troops put on standby.

Iranian security officials told Reuters that Iran’s strategy was for Middle East proxies like Hezbollah to pursue limited strikes on Israeli and US targets but avoid a major escalation that would drawn in Tehran, a high-wire act for the Islamic Republic.

ISRAELI BLITZ ON HAMAS-RULED GAZA

Israel unleashed an aerial blitz on Gaza to its southwest after Hamas terrorists breached the border and carried out a shock rampage through nearby communities, killing 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and taking 212 hostages back to Gaza.

Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said on Sunday that Israel‘s air and missile strikes to root out the terror group’s military infrastructure and high-level targets had killed thousands.

Israel has amassed tanks and troops near the fenced border around Gaza for a planned ground offensive aiming to destroy Hamas, after several inconclusive wars dating to its seizure of power there in 2007.

Elaborating on Israel‘s strategy in remarks to Fox TV, military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said it was “to have a weakened, tired, and dislocated Hamas in preparation for our next stage of military operations.”

“Our working assumption,” he said, “is that Hamas has prepared the battlefield, that there are various dimensions of warfare ready for us — specifically tunnels — and that Hamas, at least in the first and the intermediate stages, will fight and will inflict heavy casualties on [Israeli forces].”

Hamas said it had fired more rockets at Tel Aviv on Sunday. There was no immediate word of damage or casualties.

With Israel keeping up daily bombings in Gaza, Palestinians said they received renewed Israeli military warnings to move from Gaza’s north to the south to avoid the deadliest theater of the war.

They said military leaflets dropped on the territory, just 45 km (28 miles) long, contained the added warning that they could be identified as sympathizers with a “terrorist organization” if they stayed put.

“For your own safety, move southward. We will continue to attack in the area of Gaza City and increase attacks,” Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

Israel says it is only targeting terrorists and that they often use residential buildings as cover.

Hamas has a history of using civilians as human shields during conflict with Israel.