Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with his counterpart in Israel Sunday to reiterate U.S. support for the Jewish state as tensions escalate with Iran and its proxies, threatening a wider regional war after 10 months of fighting Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.  

Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant discussed U.S. force posture moves that the Defense Department is taking to bolster protection for U.S. forces in the region, support the defense of Israel, and deter and de-escalate broader tensions in the region, according to readout from the Pentagon. 

The meeting came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday that Israel is already in a "multi-front war" with Iran and its proxies.

Tensions in the region are already at all-time highs after last week’s killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas' top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas said it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

ISRAEL PREPARES FOR IRAN ATTACK AMID WARNINGS THAT REGIME IS CLOSE TO HAVING NUCLEAR WEAPON: 'UNNERVING'

Netanyahu said Israel was ready for any scenario. Jordan's foreign minister was making a rare trip to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts — "We want the escalation to end," Ayman Safadi said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly told his counterparts on Sunday that Iran and Hezbollah could attack Israel as early as Monday, per Axios. 

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, head of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is expected to arrive in Israel Monday to coordinate preparations for the anticipated attack, according to the Times of Israel. 

President Biden is also expected to meet with his national security team in the situation room Monday to discuss the situation in the Middle East, according to reporting from Reuters. 

In Israel, some prepared bomb shelters and recalled Iran's unprecedented direct military assault in April following a suspected Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals. Israel said almost all the drones and ballistic and cruise missiles were intercepted.

"For years, Iran has been arming and financing terrorist organizations across the Middle East, including smuggling explosives into Israeli territory for terror attacks against civilians," IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagar said in a statement. "The IDF and ISA have already thwarted numerous attacks in which Claymore type explosives were smuggled into the country’s territory. We are determined to continue acting against Iranian terrorism wherever it may be."

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage. Israel’s brutal retaliation has led to the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Heavy airstrikes and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people.

The militant group Hezbollah and Israel have continued to trade fire along the Lebanon border since the war began, with the severity growing in recent months. Hezbollah said it's aimed at relieving pressure on fellow Iran-backed ally Hamas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A woman writing on Reddit about a personal dilemma involving a lottery win and a financially desperate brother was deemed "not in the wrong" by the majority of other users on the social media platform who sided with her pragmatic and thoughtful view of the matter.

The post has received 3,600 reactions and some 1,500 comments in less than a day.  

Describing herself as 28 years old, the woman, calling herself "Vedoric," wrote that she "recently won a significant amount of money in the lottery. It wasn’t a jackpot, but it was enough to make a big difference in my life — around $500,000 (pretax)."

WEDDING REGRETS PLAGUE WOMAN AFTER SHE SPENDS $90K, CALLING IT ‘MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN’ 

She said she's always "been pretty careful with money, and I plan to use it to pay off my student loans, put a down payment on a house and maybe start a small business I've always dreamed of."

Then a family member found out about her winnings — and things got complicated, apparently.

"My brother … found out about my winnings through our parents," she wrote about her 32-year-old brother. 

"He’s been struggling financially for years due to poor money management and some bad luck, and he has a lot of debt."

The brother called her, she went on, "and congratulated me — then immediately asked if I could help him out by giving him $30,000 to pay off his debts and get back on his feet."

WOMAN ON REDDIT IS CONFUSED BY BOYFRIEND'S NEGATIVE REACTION TO HER CARE PACKAGE: 'UNGRATEFUL DUDE'

The sister wrote that she "sympathized," but "I feel like giving him such a large amount of money won’t really solve his problems in the long term."

She said she's "seen him blow through money before, and I worry that this would just be another cycle."

So she told him, she wrote in her post, that she'd be "willing to help him create a budget plan and even give him a smaller amount, like $5,000, to help with immediate needs, but he got really upset."

She said that "he accused me of being selfish and not caring about family."

The woman added that her parents "are split on the issue. My mom thinks I should help him out because ‘family helps family,’ but my dad agrees that my brother needs to learn to manage his own finances."

MAN ON REDDIT IS STUNNED WHEN WIFE DEMANDS MORE HELP AROUND THE HOUSE: ‘I DO THE BEST I CAN’ 

She wrote on the platform, "I feel conflicted because I do care about my brother, but I also believe in being responsible with my money and making sure it lasts."

So, she asked others, was she wrong for "not giving my brother a larger portion of my lottery winnings despite his financial struggles?"

Fox News Digital reached out to a psychologist for thoughts on the matter.

A Reddit user, in the top "upvoted" comment on the post, wrote, "It is your money to do with as you wish. After taxes, it will seem to be a lot of money. But do the math [about] your own expenses in your life, and you will realize it won’t last nearly as long as it might seem."

The same writer added, "It’s a good buffer to give [yourself] some room to feel more comfortable taking some risks and pursuing your own life goals. Take advantage of that, protect it, and ignore the noise from others."

Said someone else more bluntly, "Most lottery winners end up bankrupt because they feel like they have to give money to every rat that crawls out of the woodwork."

This same person deemed the original poster not in the wrong for her decisions. 

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"He [the brother] will blow through any money you give him and be back for more. If you want to help out, buy him a grocery store gift card so he can buy food or gas."

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Someone else offered a much more direct piece of advice for this lottery winner and any others in the future.

"Never mention a sudden windfall to anyone."