JERUSALEM – Israel and the Iranian regime-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah are expected to go head-to-head in what the Jewish state’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz termed ‘an all-out war.’

The tipping point for Israel’s decision to fight back, with what U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said ‘will be swift, harsh and painful,’ was Hezbollah’s Saturday rocket attack on a soccer field that was packed with children, resulting in the mass murder of 12 children in the Israeli Druze town of Majdal Shams.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday that its air force ‘struck approximately 10 Hezbollah terror targets in seven different areas in southern Lebanon. In addition, in aerial and ground strikes, the IDF eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of Bayt Lif, and struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility, terror infrastructure sites, military structures, and a launcher in southern Lebanon.’ This as the IDF reported 10 projectiles crossed into Israeli territory earlier today. One civilian died as a result of the barrage.

It is thought that the current IDF strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon are a curtain raiser for a larger Israeli assault against its enemy in the north.

The Lebanese-based terrorist movement Hezbollah is the chief strategic partner of the Islamic Republic of Iran, whose ruling mullahs call for the extermination of Israel and frequently chant ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America.’

Appearing on ‘The Story with Martha MacCallum,’ former U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo pinned the blame for Hezbollah’s jingoism targeting Israel on Iran’s regime. ‘This is all Iran, this is coordinated by the Iranians, it is approved by Iranians and this is funded by the Iranians…The outcome will be determined by will the world  stand-up and demand that Iran be sanctioned and that we deny them the wealth they need to carry their terror campaign.’  

Israel is immersed in a multi-front war against proxies from the Islamic Republic of Iran — ranging from Hamas in the Gaza Strip, to the Houthis in Yemen, to Syria, to Hezbollah in the north and to Iraqi militias beholden to Tehran. Iran’s clerical regime has supplied missiles and rockets to Hezbollah for its over 150,000 aerial warfare arsenal. Many of the weapons that Tehran furnished to Hezbollah are precision guided missiles.

Fox News Digital contacted leading Israeli and American experts on the volatile Middle East for comments on whether the Hezbollah-Israel conflict could spark a World War 3.

Brigadier General (Res) Amir Avivi, a former deputy commander of the IDF Gaza Division, said, ‘The question of whether there will be a third World War depends on American deterrence. Israel might find itself in full-scale war with Lebanon. It might happen. Maybe not immediately, but in the coming months. And the way the U.S. will deter the Yemenis, the Iranians, Turkey, and so on, will determine whether we are on the way to a third world war or a military attack of Israel focused on Lebanon without the whole Middle East going into this war. I think the problem is the U.S. is very focused on the elections… while on the ground there is a multi-front war.’

Avivi, who is the founder of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, said ‘The big question is what will be the U.S. policy’ when Israel launches a full-scale attack on Lebanon.

He continued ‘And whether we will see Biden sending the message again ’Don’t’ and getting serious and sending forces to the Middle East.’

Matthew Levitt, the director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute, said ‘I think Israel and Hezbollah both, for their own reasons, still want to escalate away from all out war. That said, the potential for miscalculation is crazy high and in the event of an all-out war Iranian proxies would surely try to play a role.’

Levitt, who is widely considered the leading U.S. expert on Hezbollah, said if this leads to Lebanese Hezbollah redeploying north, it could ultimately help avoid war.

He explained that the redeployment of Hezbollah would mean an ‘Implementation of something along the lines of [United Nations Security Council Resolution] 1701 to address not only the rocket threat but the threat of an Oct. 7-style attack on the northern border.’

Resolution 1701 was passed to end the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel and has not been honored by Hezbollah, the de facto ruler over Lebanon. The resolution calls for Hezbollah to be disarmed and for Hezbollah to retreat from the Israel-Lebanon border area.

Fox News reported in June that the U.N.’s failure to enforce 1701 has emboldened the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah.

Levitt said ‘Israeli citizens up north fear Lebanese Hezbollah forces storming across the border and won’t return home without that addressed. If it’s not addressed, the Majdal Shams attack could give credence to those in Israel calling for addressing the Lebanon Hezbollah challenge now.’

Former IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus said, ‘The Islamic Republic of Iran stands to benefit from Israel continuing to focus its military capabilities on Iran’s proxies instead of on the Iranian revolutionary guard, and will likely maintain its strategy of providing weapons to terror organizations around Israel to keep it engaged and in a perpetual state of fighting. Until Israel changes its strategy against Iran, the likelihood of decades of continued fighting and instability in the Middle East are high.’

Conricus, a senior fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, added, ‘Since the main theater of operations for the Israeli forces remains the Gaza Strip, for the time being it appears as if Israel does not seek to engage Hezbollah in an all-out war. Israel will likely retaliate against Hezbollah at a level just below the assessed threshold of war, yet likely in such a way that will be public and hard for the Lebanese terror organization to hide.’

He continued that ‘Israel has been waging a successful surgical campaign directed at senior enemy combatants, with extremely limited collateral damage in Lebanon, while Hezbollah has already killed 24 Israeli civilians along with 22 Israeli soldiers since October 8. The human toll in Israel greatly exceeds the tolerance of the Israeli population, and Hezbollah’s aggression will therefore have to be met with significant actions by Israel.’

Hezbollah rocket, drone and missile attacks into northern Israel have forced the displacement of 80,000 Israelis since October.

Iranian-born Israeli Beni Sabti, an expert on Iran from the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said ‘This escalation won’t become a bigger war because Israel is still also busy in the Gaza front and they have to stick with the goal of destroying, or weakening Hamas as much as it can be.’ He said there is also a lot of pressure from France and the U.S. not to bomb Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.

Israel’s medical preparation for a third war with Hezbollah (the first two were in 1982 and 2006) is unfolding.

Said Eli Bin, director general of Magen David Adom, told Fox News Digital that ‘Magen David Adom, as Israel’s National Emergency Service provider, is ready for anything, we hope for the best, but prepared for the worst.

‘Magen David Adom has prepared our staff and 30,000 volunteers for all possible scenarios, including the total loss of power, telephone and radio communications.’ He added that, ‘While today we can get medical assistance to anyone within minutes using our revolutionary AI-powered dispatch, we are also ready to work manually transmitting messages in writing via messengers on motorcycles.’

Eli Bin added that, ‘The Magen David Adom Marcus National Blood Services Center is protected from missile and chemical warfare, securing the countries blood supplies deep underground. In the event of an all-out war, we will continue to distribute blood to hospitals across the country and to the IDF using everything at our disposal, including armored ambulances, off-road vehicles and motorcycles and even helicopters.’

Turkey added to the destabilization of the Middle East this week. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatened to invade Israel, sending shock waves throughout the Jewish state. Erdoğan is a zealous supporter of the U.S. and EU-designated terrorist movement, Hamas, that invaded Israel on October 7. Hamas slaughtered nearly 1,200 people, including over 30 Americans.

Conricus said ‘As reckless and aggressive as the comments of the Turkish leader may be, since he is the head of state of a NATO member country, the chances of Türkiye escalating its rhetoric or actions against Israel remain slim. However, terrorist organizations in the region will surely draw moral and spiritual support from his belligerent threats against Israel.’

Protests have broken out across the country as both sides of the Venezuela presidential election claim victory, with opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez claiming he has proof that he won. 

‘The voice of the Venezuelan people has been clear through their votes, yet the morally bankrupt dictatorship remains deaf to their cries,’ Isaias Medina III, a former Venezuelan diplomat on the United Nations Security Council and Harvard fellow, told Fox News Digital. 

‘The regime has not only defrauded the election results but has also begun persecuting the courageous leaders who ignited the flame of freedom,’ Medina said. ‘In a remarkable display of unity and defiance, spontaneous marches flood the streets, as citizens fervently plead for liberty and the chance to rebuild a nation where families can reunite in prosperity.’

‘The international community must amplify its pressure on this tyrannical regime and stand with the righteous people of Venezuela,’ Medina insisted. ‘Global leaders must unite in condemning these injustices and support Venezuela’s quest for freedom and democracy.’

‘The time has come for decisive action to ensure the voices of the oppressed are heard and the light of justice prevails again,’ he added. 

Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Monday claimed they had obtained over 70% of tally sheets to show the district by district results, which allegedly show that Gonzalez won double the votes over Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. 

The National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of Sunday’s vote despite allegedly leaked polling (which is illegal in Venezuela) showing overwhelming support for the opposition over Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Maduro first secured office in 2013, but many within and outside the country have alleged from the start that PSUV has effectively ruled as a dictatorship, leading to opposition parties boycotting the 2018 election before deciding to unite behind Gonzalez in the most recent contest. 

The council said Maduro won 51% over the 44% for the opposition, leading to immediate condemnation from regional leaders. Argentinian President Javier Milei called the victory an ‘electoral scam’ and Maduro a ‘fraud.’ Chilean President Gabriel Boric said the results were ‘hard to believe’ and refused to recognize them. 

‘The international community and especially the Venezuelan people, including the millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand total transparency,’ Boric said following the election decision, according to Reuters.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa called Maduro’s government a dictatorship and said, ‘Today we are witnessing how one more of them tries to take home away from millions of Venezuelans.’ 

Venezuela has responded to the widespread criticism by cutting ties to countries that have asked for an independent recount of the election, including Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Several Latin American countries plan to call for an emergency meeting of the regional bloc to discuss the issue, Semafor reported. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration has ‘serious concerns’ about the results and insisted they do not ‘reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.’ 

Panama went a step further and suspended diplomatic ties with Venezuela until an independent review of the election results and voting computers occurs, and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele argued that the ‘official result has no relation to reality.’ 

Venezuelans have not remained silent, taking to the streets to protest what they all believe to be a rigged election. The protests started peacefully, but riot gear-equipped police escalated the matter, leading to violence both from the protesters and police. 

Protesters threw objects, including stones, at the police, while police used tear gas on the crowds in an effort to make them disperse. 

Maduro dismissed the pushback on his victory as an ‘attempt… to impose a coup d’etat in Venezuela,’ adding that ‘we already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness,’ Maduro said, adding that Venezuela’s ‘law will be respected.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Imagine a political world where a Democratic president cuts taxes in the middle of a recession while beefing up the military.

Imagine having a pro-Life Democratic president in the Oval Office.

Imagine a Democratic Speaker of the House meeting with a Republican president for an after-hours drink to hash out policy differences in the name of compromise.

Imagine a Democratic president declaring ‘the era of big government is over’ while working with a Republican House Speaker on welfare reform and a balanced budget amendment.

And finally, imagine a Democratic president who was so aggressive on the issue of illegal immigration, that he was angrily labeled the Deporter-in-Chief by the left?

Believe it or not, these leaders actually existed in this country. It was John F. Kennedy who cut taxes in 1961 after inheriting a recession. It was Jimmy Carter who was a pro-Lifer. It was House Speaker Tip O’Neil who put aside his ideological differences to meet President Reagan over a cocktail to help advance the country forward. It was President Bill Clinton who went hard to the center heading into the 1996 election by working with Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich to pass common sense proposals into law. And it was President Barack Obama who understood that mass illegal immigration could help destroy a country.

This is the premise of my new book, ‘Progressively Worse: Why Today’s Democrats Ain’t Your Daddy’s Donkeys,’ out on Tuesday, July 30.  The party that once championed the working man and woman is now the party of elites. 

Don’t believe me? Chew on this: The 40 richest congressional districts in the country are represented by Democrats.

This is also the party that is anti-woman. How else can anyone explain supporting biological males competing against biological women?

This is also the party of war. Because we could be talking about even five years from now the trillions we poured into keeping Ukraine’s stalemate with Russia alive and well.

One only has to look at Kamala Harris’s positions to see what the party is now embracing. Kamala Harris — who as a 2020 presidential candidate did not receive one primary vote. And in 2024, she’s suddenly the nominee without receiving one vote from the public.

Yet these are the same folks who insist it is their party that is here to save democracy?

Back to Kamala Harris. Let’s match up her positions with those of a majority of voters in the key swing states.

For Pennsylvania: Harris is on record saying she wants to ban all fracking. She is backtracking on that now, but that’s only because she wants to get elected. She is also on record saying she wants to end the fossil fuel industry. If she somehow wins the presidency — this will result in devastating job losses.  

How about Michigan? Harris supports a government mandated electric vehicle push and the end of the sale of gas-powered cars. That also means massive job losses for autoworkers in Michigan.

How about Wisconsin? Kamala Harris is on record saying she wants to limit consumption of red meat. So, if you’re a poultry farmer in Wisconsin, how do you feel about that? Because that will cripple your industry too.

If you’re a voter in Arizona or New Mexico, states overrun by illegal immigration, do you like the fact that she wants to abolish ICE? Or that she compared ICE to the KKK? And she unequivocally is against border wall construction and Remain in Mexico policy. 

So, if you’re voting in Arizona or New Mexico, can you really support this candidate?

And on a national level, do you support banning all offshore drilling, as Harris does? 

If you’re one of the 87% of Americans that don’t have any student loan debt, do you like the fact that she supports running roughshod over the Supreme Court and Congress to help the other 13 percent with your taxpayer money?

As an American, no matter where you live, are you for the elimination of cash bail laws– as Kamala Harris is?

Do you support those in jail serving hard time for murder or rape being able to vote in our elections? Because she’s ‘open’ to the idea. 

Do you support expanding the Supreme Court?

How about voting without showing identification?

How about eliminating all private health insurance? Yet at the same time… Providing free health insurance to all those who enter this country illegally?

These ain’t your Daddy’s Donkeys, that’s for certain.   

And it’s all laid out in ‘Progressively Worse,’ a book that couldn’t possibly be better timed than at this pivotal moment, less than 100 days before the most consequential election in the history of the country.

Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang exercises took place this past week. The yearly war drills aim to rehearse combat readiness for a potential Chinese invasion. Our team traveled to the island to join the military and speak to officials about the annual war games.

While a typhoon grounded several of the air force drills, other exercises took place across Taiwan. Throughout the week, troops opened fire on mock invading forces approaching the island and rehearsed rapid response drills to an attack.

‘When you’ve got such a giant threat besides you, any kind of preparation – you cannot say it’s enough,’ said MP Wang Ting Yu, co-chair of Taiwan’s defense and foreign relations committee. ‘The next few years, maybe three or five years will be a crucial moment to Asia, to the world. Once we do something right, we can deter or postpone that potential conflict,’ he told Fox News.

China views the democratically governed island as its own. Taiwanese government officials argue their best defense is deterrence.

An example of Taiwan’s defensive tactics is the island’s ‘porcupine strategy’. Taiwanese researchers explain that with enough small defense mechanisms, the military could disincentivize an attack.

‘We are trying to procure more precision weapons, maybe long range, maybe short range, missiles, air defense weaponry, anti-tank missiles. Some portable like a stinger, javelin or everything. That will make Taiwan just like a porcupine. China can attack Taiwan, but they will feel hurt,’ said Jyh-Shyang Sheu, a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.

The Taiwanese government says it needs to invest in Western training and more weaponry. ‘The Taiwanese military need opportunities to have the real battle experience. That’s what we can learn from our friends. And second, for the next few years, our indigenous submarines will become our capability, can defend our country,’ Wang said.

In April, Washington approved a $95 billion dollar aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The United States is also Taiwan’s largest arms supplier. Earlier this year, China sanctioned 12 U.S. defense-related companies for arms sales to Taiwan in retaliation after the U.S. sanctioned Chinese companies linked to Russia.

While some analysts argue a blockade is more likely than an invasion, the tension along the Taiwan strait is a common conversation among civilians. It is even enough incentive for some residents to try to flee.

‘My friends ask: Why do you want to study abroad, and I say: Because I want to get the visa elsewhere and take all my family away,’ said Fanyi Chao, a Taiwanese college student studying in California.

That fear is not entirely shared around Taipei. Others told our team they think tensions will never actually amount to an invasion. ‘We have a Chinese saying: the barking dog will not bite people. So, they (China) are always barking, but they don’t have the guts to fight people,’ a man named Peter, who did not provide his last name, said.

Taiwan however, is drawing parallels between itself and Ukraine. The government says its holding talks with Kyiv on lessons learned from Russia’s invasion.

‘The Russian Ukraine (situation) gives lessons, and we must further secure the peace of the Taiwan Strait,’ said Taiwan’s new Foreign Minister, Lin Chia-Lung, in his first briefing with foreign press since taking office earlier this year.

Those lessons are top of mind for civilians who say they doubt Western allies would come to the island’s aid.

‘Because of the Ukraine-Russia war, I want to know more about this area. In the future, should a war break out, it might help me to have a chance to protect myself,’ said Eric Luo. The 30-year-old man is among those spending their free time learning to use firearms. As guns are illegal in Taiwan, students practice realistic airsoft guns.

‘I’m a person who wants to be prepared for any situation, but peace must be the most important thing,’ said another student, Jason Chang.

Across the board, that statement remains consistent. Civilians in training say they want to know how to protect themselves but repeatedly stressed they desperately hope it never comes to that.

‘Our fathers, grandfathers experienced wars. We are the children of that generation, so we pass our knowledge to the next generation of young people’. Chi-yi Zang, an instructor at the training camp told Fox News. ‘Whether there will be a war or not, it is not something we ordinary people can decide, but in the face of a war, it’s up to us to protect ourselves.’

President Biden’s push to impose radical changes to the Supreme Court caters to the left-wing base of the Democrat party from an administration that was once billed as a ‘moderate,’ critics argue.

On Monday, Biden and Vice President Harris, who is now running at the top of the presidential ticket for Democrats in November, backed drastic measures for Congress to adopt, including term limits, ethics rules and a constitutional amendment to limit presidential immunity.

Biden, in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, said he has ‘great respect for our institutions and separation of powers’ but ‘what is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.’

The move marks a nearly 180-degree pivot for Biden, who had generally bucked plans even from within his own party to make such changes to the high court. 

During the early years of his political career in the Senate, Biden called President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plans to place term limits on older justices and packing the court ‘a bonehead idea.’ Packing the court, or court packing, is a term for increasing the number of justices on a court.

On the campaign trail in 2020, he resisted calls to expand the size of the court, saying that it would undermine its credibility.

With Monday’s announcement, Biden hasn’t said he wants to pack the court. But on his way out the Oval Office door, he’s endorsing plans from the most radical wing of his party.

‘The far-left calls to destroy the Supreme Court were answered first by a candidate desperate to save his failing campaign,’ said Carrie Severino, president of Judicial Network.

‘Now they will be championed by a candidate who needs to cater to dark money groups in the Arabella Advisors network like Demand Justice, Fix the Court and a host of other pop-up groups funded by liberal billionaires,’ she added.

Arabella Advisors is a dark money fund that feeds various left-wing causes. Notably, Harris’ communications director, Brian Fallon, is the former head of Demand Justice, which is an Arabella-funded group that advocates for court packing.

Fix the Court, another Arabella-connected group, pushes for term limits for Justices.

‘[Biden is] trying to gin up his base with this gimmick,’ said GOP strategist Matt Gorman.

‘The idea that Joe Biden would advocate for term limits is laughable. The left can’t stand that they don’t control the court, so they’ll do whatever they can to take it by legislative force,’ he said.

The ideological swing of the high court shifted when former President Trump appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. The conservative block is certainly not always in a lockstep vote, but Democrats in Congress and in the White House have nevertheless claimed that about the Republican-appointed majority.

‘President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris want to end-run the Constitution and destroy the Supreme Court because they can’t control it,’ said Severino.

‘Biden and Harris are declaring war on the separation of powers with this announcement,’ she added.

The Harris campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates responded, ‘As he stands up for the rule of law and the integrity of the Supreme Court, President Biden is grateful for the support these proposals are receiving from bipartisan legal experts, members of Congress, and large majorities of the American people. 

‘Now, congressional Republicans have a choice to make: will they safeguard conflicts of interests on our nation’s highest court and help presidents remain above the law, or will they side with Joe Biden, conservative former judges, and their own constituents to protect principals that should override any partisanship?’ said Bates. 

Notably, the Supreme Court last year adopted a new code of conduct after months of scrutiny from Democrats in Congress. 

‘For the most part, these rules and principles are not new: The Court has long had the equivalent of common law ethics rules, that is, a body of rules derived from a variety of sources, including statutory provisions, the code that applies to other members of the federal judiciary, ethics advisory opinions issued by the Judicial Conference Committee on Codes of Conduct, and historic practice,’ a statement signed by all the justices said.

‘The absence of a Code, however, has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules. To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct,’ it said.