Steven A. Cook,
On Oct. 9, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel would “change the Middle East.” Observers may not have been paying careful attention, or they may have thought it was just rhetoric. But in the nearly 20 months of brutal conflict that has followed, the Israelis have done much to realize this goal. With the recent attack on Iran, which occurred just hours ago, they are seeking to strike a final and fatal blow against the Axis of Resistance.
All the death and destruction in Gaza and the attendant international outcry has obscured a critical Israeli achievement. Israel is in a better strategic position—and thus more secure—than it was on Oct. 7, 2023. There is no longer a military rationale for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank because Hamas is no longer a threat. Most of its leaders in Gaza are dead, and the few that remain have few resources, face a growing opposition of ordinary Gazans outraged at what Hamas has brought upon them, and have been forced to rely on lightly trained fighters.
The war continues only in service of the annexationist agenda of the far-right politicians in Israel. The dream of taking Gaza and extending Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank has only been made possible by the broader battlefield successes of the IDF, however.
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