London, Oct 18 (IANS): The stand-off over between Israel-Hamas war has the potential to drag US, Russia and China into the conflict, a military expert warned on Wednesday, media reports said.

Professor Justin Bronk said that if Iran attacks Israel in retaliation for invading Gaza, Moscow and Beijing will be compelled to step in and the war could escalate.

He pointed out that Iran and its Hezbollah proxies in Lebanon provide a potential second front, with the US warning Hezbollah and Iran to stay out of the war, Daily Mail reported.

Professor Bronk, a senior research fellow at London’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), added that Russia and China have been relatively restrained so far.

But if Iran gets involved, then Russia might support it -- and the war could include the US if Iran or its proxies attack Israel over the coming weeks.

Israel has now bombed areas of southern Gaza where it told Palestinians to flee ahead of an expected invasion, killing dozens of people.

Violence along Israel's border with Lebanon has also led to concerns over a widening regional conflict that diplomats have been working to prevent, Daily Mail reported.

It comes after historian Niall Ferguson wrote in the Sunday Times that the situation had a 'unpleasant 1930s feeling', asking: 'Will there be a World War Three?'