Israel prepares for likely retaliatory attack by Iran as tensions mount

As fears grow of an imminent attack, the Israel air force commander, Maj Gen Tomer Bar, issued an order forbidding career officers from travelling abroad for holidays, a day after it was reported that soldiers travelling in Georgia and Azerbaijan had been told to return to Israel immediately.

Earlier, the leaders of France, Germany and Britain called on Tehran to refrain from any retaliatory attacks that would further escalate regional tensions after the killing of Haniyeh, and of a Hezbollah leader in Beirut last month.

The rapidly rising tensions have been driven by remarks by Iranian and Israeli officials that Tehran was on the brink of a large-scale retaliatory attack.

Axios reported that the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, had told the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, in a conversation on Sunday that Iran was preparing for a large-scale military attack on Israel within days.

The US military had already said it would deploy additional fighter jets and navy warships to the Middle East as Washington seeks to bolster Israeli defences.

The growing fear of an Iranian attack has caused a number of international airlines to cancel flights to the region.

On Monday, the German airline Lufthansa said it was extending the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and Erbil to 21 August, adding it would also avoid using Iranian and Iraqi airspace.