F OR MORE than a year, fighting between Israel and Iran’s network of allied militias has brought the two countries dangerously close to direct war. Recent escalations make such a confrontation more likely. Last week Iran fired around 200 missiles at Israel. Israel is now preparing its response. What comes next could draw in Gulf states and America.

Israel has invaded southern Lebanon in a dramatic escalation of its conflict with Hezbollah. The Israeli ground operation began on 30 September, days after an air strike killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed armed group.

Iran launched around 200 missiles into Israel on Tuesday. Tim Walz and JD Vance met for their first and possibly only vice presidential debate. And Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in Tuesday as Mexico’s first female president in more than 200 years of Mexico's history as an independent country.

Israel is expanding its ground invasion of Lebanon against Hezbollah, sending thousands of additional troops into a new zone in the south-west of the country. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a fourth division had joined the eight-day-old ground operation seeking to dismantle Hezbollah targets and infrastructure.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that it has begun "a targeted and demarcated ground operation" in southern Lebanon, where it claimed Hezbollah militants and infrastructure were located.