Smoke rises from Israeli artillery explosions in al-Bustan, a Lebanese border village, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Acting Lebanese Public Health Minister Firass Abiad informed Sputnik on Thursday that Lebanese health authorities are implementing measures to improve the readiness of healthcare facilities for handling potential emergency scenarios.

This comes amid the back-and-forth airstrikes which have been taking place between Hezbollah and "Israel."

Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has stated that the authorities have been focusing on preserving peace in the country in the wake of the war on Gaza.

"The primary goal is to scale up the preparedness of the health sector for any possible attack on Lebanon," Abiad said.

He further mentioned that the ministry has initiated the operation of a coordination center for managing emergency situations, encompassing all healthcare groups, to ensure the most efficient utilization of resources.

The minister emphasized the critical importance of ensuring that hospitals are fully prepared to receive and care for the injured in the event of an attack on Lebanon.

Tensions along the Palestine-Lebanon border have been escalating amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

The IOF was due to launch a ground invasion in the destroyed enclave, however, analysts have argued that the operation was delayed due to Hezbollah.

The Jerusalem Post stated in a report on Tuesday that the delay was to double-check matters regarding Hezbollah's intentions, as well as the plan to replenish and reinforce the IOF in the north if push comes to shove.

The Israeli military is making preparations for a forthcoming invasion of the Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of troops have been directed "to take control of Gaza City," as per the report.

"Israel" fears Hezbollah

A report by Al-Akhbar on Wednesday stated that the IOF has been carefully working around the deterrence equation enforced back in 2006 to avoid a retaliatory strike from Hezbollah deep within Israeli territories.

However, "Israel" fears that Hezbollah would retaliate beyond current scales if a ground invasion of Gaza was to take place. This is exacerbated by the fact that no mediator could draw out from Hezbollah a clear scope for their ongoing operations.

The report concludes that the Israeli security-intelligence establishment assesses that a regional war scenario is still not probable, but a war with Hezbollah seems to be more likely with every passing day.