Yarden Gil opens a reinforced metal door to enter the northern Israeli kindergarten where she works, which doubles as an underground shelter against rockets fired by Lebanon's Hezbollah.

She is among tens of thousands displaced from the border area by the ever-present threat of Hezbollah attacks and, increasingly, the fear of an all-out war.

There are continuous Arab efforts aimed at pacifying the situation between Israel and Hezbollah in light of the latest threats and fears, an informed source told Kuwait’s al-Anba newspaper.

As for the Israeli threats against Lebanon, another informed source told al-Anba that “Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is threatening on the Lebanese front with the aim of pressing the U.S. administration to release the needed weapons deal, which according to Israel would speed up the control of Gaza.”

The Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, kicked off a visit to Lebanon on Sunday, amid escalation on Lebanon’s southern front with Israel.

Parolin is scheduled to take part in a “broad spiritual and national meeting” in Bkerki that has been called for by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has dubbed reports that Hezbollah was storing weapons at Beirut airport as "shameful" and "dangerous".

In an interview, Jumblat accused the British daily The Telegraph of "promoting war".

Caretaker transport minister Ali Hamieh has denied that Hezbollah was storing weapons at Beirut airport, as fears grow of all-out war between the militant group and Israel.

Hamieh called a press conference on Sunday to deny the allegations of "absurd articles" in the media, and attacked the British daily The Telegraph.

In the buzz of a trendy Beirut neighborhood, the din of bars and laughter blend together, far from the border violence with Israel further south and fears of all-out war.

"I'm 40 years old, and each year they tell us that war will break out this summer," Elie, a financial consultant who did not give his last name, said in a bar in the Lebanese capital with other locals chatting beside him.

The top U.S. military officer has warned that any Israeli military offensive into Lebanon would risk an Iranian response in defense of the powerful Hezbollah militant group there, triggering a broader war that could put U.S. forces in the region in danger.

Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday Iran "would be more inclined to support Hezbollah." He added that Tehran supports Hamas militants in Gaza, but would give greater backing to Hezbollah "particularly if they felt that Hezbollah was being significantly threatened."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the current phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza is winding down, setting the stage for Israel to send more troops to its northern border to confront the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The comments Sunday threatened to further heighten the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah at a time when they appear to be moving closer to war. Netanyahu also signaled that there is no end in sight for the grinding war in Gaza.

Hezbollah said Sunday it had targeted a military position in northern Israel with an armed drone in response to the killing of an Islamist commander.

Israel and the powerful Iran-backed group, a Hamas ally, have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war erupted on October 7.

Thousands of fighters from Iran-backed groups in the Middle East are ready to come to Lebanon to join with Hezbollah in its battle with Israel if the simmering conflict escalates into a full-blown war, officials with Iran-backed factions and analysts say.

Almost daily exchanges of fire have occurred along Lebanon's frontier with northern Israel since fighters from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip staged a bloody assault on southern Israel in early October that set off a war in Gaza.