The conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza has set off a chain reaction in the Middle East, and Western officials are increasingly concerned that it could trigger a wider war that draws in more nations.

Growing outrage in Middle Eastern capitals and much of the world over the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza is adding more fuel to an already volatile mixture that has seen violence spread to the West Bank, Israel’s northern border, the Red Sea and to Iraq and Syria, where U.S. forces have come under repeated drone and rocket fire from Iran’s proxies.

Whether the conflict in Gaza expands will hinge in large part on Iran and the militant groups it has armed across the region, with Western officials watching to see how far Tehran is willing to go in using its proxies against Israel and the U.S. So far, U.S. and Western intelligence officials say Iran does not appear to be gunning for a direct war with the U.S., and instead is using its partners to undermine Israel and pressure the West.

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TEL AVIV — Danny Danon, the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and a senior lawmaker, told NBC News yesterday that Israel should not even discuss a cease-fire. 

“We appreciate the support we received from the U.S., but I don’t understand why we need a cease-fire or pause right now,” Danon said. He spoke ahead of Blinken’s visit to Israel today and after President Joe Biden called for a “pause” in hostilities.

Danon, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, said Israel respects its allies but is “fighting for our lives” and knows that “we have to go all the way.”

As Hassan Nasrallah prepares to give a speech at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m.ET) today, Danon issued a start warning to the Hezbollah leader “not to gamble, because we will bury Hezbollah under the rubble of Lebanon if he will attack us.”

Hours after American citizen aid worker Maha Elbanna passed through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt from her “unbearable” situation in Gaza, she saw her sister in New Jersey for the first time on “Hallie Jackson NOW.”

“Hi, honey!” sister Summer Elbanna said, blowing a kiss to Maha. “I just want to give her a big hug and I cannot wait for her to take a nice long hot shower,” Summer told Jackson. Maha laughed onscreen, nodding her head.

A long pause followed Jackson’s introduction, when Summer could be seen welling up with the emotion of seeing her sister, with whom she had primarily communicated with via WhatsApp because of poor internet service.

“It was definitely that roller coaster of emotions, you know all day, I couldn’t really sleep, I couldn’t eat. It felt selfish to enjoy life here knowing that they’re all suffering there,” Summer added.

TEL AVIV — While Israel presses ahead with its military campaign in Gaza, many here are nervously eyeing the country’s northern border today.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah, is making a much-anticipated speech at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) — which some fear could mark a dramatic escalation in the war.

The address has been previewed with a number of slick videos posted on social media, featuring foreboding electronic music and graphics, interspersed with shots of Nasrallah penning his address.

Hezbollah and Israel have already traded dozens of rockets since the Hamas attacks Oct. 7, but this represents just a fraction of Hezbollah’s missile arsenal, the largest of any non-state entity in the world. U.S. officials have said they haven't seen evidence of a planned escalation.

Hours after crossing the Rafah border from Gaza into Egypt, American citizen aid worker Maha Elbanna spoke to “Top Story” anchor Tom Llamas about her 12-hour journey to Cairo, and the uncertainty waiting at the border for her name to be on a piece of paper allowing her to leave.

She woke up at 5 a.m. to see if she was among the list of names, she said. She shared a picture of it with her daughter back in the U.S. and confirmed she was on the list. “I didn’t go back to sleep afterwards,” she said.

For Elbanna, the decision to leave Gaza wasn’t easy. To pass into Egypt meant she would be leaving behind 12 immediate family members.

“But I don’t think I could have handled anymore time there,” Elbanna said. She believes that Gaza, with no electricity and poor sources of “salty water,” has been pushed back “hundreds of years,” and without support from other countries, will remain that way.

Several videos have emerged on social media appearing to show Israeli troops abusing bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees.

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TEL AVIV — Secretary of State Antony Blinken has just landed for his second trip to Israel during its almost monthlong war in the Gaza Strip.

Blinken arrives amid growing White House concern about Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, where Israel says it is targeting the militant group Hamas but has also killed thousands of civilians, many of them children, according to Palestinian health officials.

During his trip, Blinken will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posting on X before he left the United States that the administration was “focused on two states and broader peace and security in the region.”

After arriving in Tel Aviv at 8:15 a.m. local time (2:15 a.m. ET), he stepped out into the already warm November day and shook hands with the U.S.’ newly sworn-in ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, as well as other American and Israeli officials on the tarmac.

• Biden officials voice new concerns and warnings over Israel’s war with Hamas
• Will the Israeli-Hamas conflict spark a wider regional war, pulling in the U.S.?
• Deep divisions lurk behind Israel’s united wartime front
• Videos appear to show Israeli soldiers abusing bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees
• A forced exodus from Gaza to Egypt? Israeli ‘concept paper’ fuels outrage