Israel believes that war with Hizbullah could soon flare up as a result of a retaliatory attack by the Shiite group to avenge the killing of its top commander Imad Mughniyeh, the Israeli daily Haaretz said.

"Flare up of war is a possible scenario," said Haaretz.

It said an Israeli raid is likely to take place in retaliation for the smuggling of anti-aircraft guns to Lebanon, a move described by Israel as a "red line."

Amos Harel, Haaretz' military correspondent, said both Israel and Hizbullah, however, have no intention of having "another violent confrontation."

Meanwhile, Haaretz quoted Giora Eiland, former head of the National Security Council as saying that Israel had failed in its Second Lebanon War against Hizbullah in 2006 and "could fail in the third because it fought the wrong enemy. It fought Hizbullah instead of the state of Lebanon."

Eiland saw that "no victory could be achieved against an organization active under the shadow of a state immunized against an Israeli military reaction."