An escalating cross-border tit-for-tat between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah raised fears Wednesday of a full-blown war, but experts are divided on the prospect of a wider conflict.
The United States was working behind the scenes to ease tensions, a day after Israel's top diplomat warned the Iran-backed Hezbollah that it would be destroyed in the event of a "total war" and the Israeli army said its operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon had been signed off.
