Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is often tense, the legacy of past conflicts. But as Israel readies to invade Gaza, its army faces the threat of a two-front war.

Repeated fire in recent days has claimed lives on both sides of the UN-patrolled border between Lebanon and Israel, which remain technically at war.

If Israel does invade the Palestinian enclave of Gaza in its war on Hamas, Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has warned it may escalate its military involvement.

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that “we have no interest in a war in the north, we don’t want to escalate the situation”.

He urged Hezbollah to show restraint while also warning the group that, if it “chooses the path of war, it will pay a very heavy price”.

Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem told a pro-Palestinian rally on Friday that it was “fully prepared and, when the time comes for action, we will take it”.

The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement, Lebanon’s only armed faction that did not disarm after the 1975-1990 civil war, last fought a major conflict with Israel in 2006.