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Last week, an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a top Hizballah commander, Wissam al Tawil, renewing fears that the war in Gaza could spark a broader regional conflict. This comes after months of cross-border fire between Israel and Hizballah since Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 and an Israeli airstrike that killed Hamas deputy chief Saleh al Arouri in Beirut, Lebanon, on Jan. 2. We asked four experts to tell us more about this conflict and how it might develop.Read more below.Faysal Itani Senior Director New Lines Institute for Strategy and PolicyIsrael’s killing of Hizballah commander Wissam al Tawil on Jan. 8 further fueled speculation about an Israel-Hizballah war. A war is increasingly likely. Lebanon and Hizballah would suffer gravely but, depending on the type of war, Israel might too.Hizballah has a formidable arsenal but it is intended for use in an Israeli war on Hizballah or Iran, not Gaza. Hizballah’s own ideology and core supporters, however, will push it to act, hence its targeted attacks near the Israel border. Its challenge is inflicting enough damage without forcing Israel into a war.This presupposes that Israel does not otherwise want such a war, but even that is unclear. Israeli politicians have called for a unilateral attack on Hizballah. This is not an official policy and the United States has opposed it, but that scenario must weigh heavily on Hizballah as do the killings of its operational leadership.Hizballah will continue its targeted attacks on Israel and the latter will continue killing Hizballah commanders, at least until major hostilities in Gaza end. For now, Israel enjoys escalation dominance unless it launches a ground war into Lebanon, which would be at least as difficult for Israel as for Hizballah and Lebanon. Raphael S. Cohen  Senior Political Scientist & Director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program