Sources have told NHK that Japan's Defense Ministry will send a team of officials to Israel's neighbors. The team is likely to make arrangements for possible missions to evacuate Japanese citizens.

Tensions continue to rise in the Middle East. Iran is preparing retaliatory attacks against Israel after a top official of the Islamic group Hamas was killed in Tehran.

Violence between the Lebanon-based Shia Muslim group Hezbollah and the Israeli military has been escalating.

Since the fighting between Israel and Hamas erupted last October, the ministry has had Japan Self-Defense Forces aircraft on stand-by to fly Japanese nationals and others out of Israel.

The ministry conducted evacuation missions in October and November.

The Foreign Ministry says about 60 Japanese nationals are in Lebanon, and more than 1,000 in Israel.

They are being urged to consider leaving the countries while commercial flights are available.