Israel Seeks to Reshape Middle East, with Force and U.S. Backing

One year after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, Israel is reshaping the Middle East by force, taking the fight to Iran and its proxies with the help of the United States — despite pleas from the Biden administration for diplomacy.

While President Biden is warning Israel against a major attack on Iran in retaliation for a missile barrage last week, Israel’s ambassador to the United States is warning “a long and arduous path” lies ahead.

...

While Netanyahu’s end game is unclear, he has steadily expanded conflicts on multiple fronts. At the moment, Israel is carrying out air and ground operations in southern Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, counterterrorism and security operations in the West Bank, preparing for its strike against Iran and is on the defensive over strikes emanating from the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

“When it comes to reshaping the Middle East, I think the Israelis are certainly trying to reshape the security threats in closest proximity to themselves,” said Jonathan Lord, senior fellow and director of the Middle East Security program at the Center for a New American Security.

“A reckoning has to be coming, on some level… because right now, in the wake of October [7], with all the threats around it, there is a willingness for the Israelis, as a nation state, to suit up and fight for what it sees as its own survival,” he continued. “But the reality is, you can’t stay at full mobilization forever. This will rob your society. It will destroy your economy.”

Read the full article and more on The Hill.