JERUSALEM – In the wake of the October 7, 2023 massacre—the deadliest antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust—Israel remains engaged in a wide-ranging military campaign against a network of Iranian-backed terrorist organizations. The assault by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, which targeted Israeli civilians with mass murder, abductions, and atrocities, marked a turning point in Israel’s ongoing fight for survival against Iran’s proxy forces across the Middle East. Over 1,200 Israelis were killed in a single day, entire families were wiped out, and more than 240 were taken hostage into Gaza. The gravity of these crimes stunned Israel and the world, with extensive evidence corroborating deliberate executions, torture, sexual violence, and the kidnapping of civilians.
The scale and brutality of the October 7 attack did not occur in isolation. The Islamic Republic of Iran, through its paramilitary arm, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), supplies arms, funding, and operational guidance to a regional alliance of non-state groups committed to Israel’s destruction. This alliance—sometimes known as the “Axis of Resistance”—includes Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various Iraqi and Syrian militias. Each group operates with Iranian backing, threatening Israel from multiple directions and destabilizing the region.
Israel’s response, Operation Iron Swords, is aimed at dismantling Hamas’s military capacity in Gaza, securing the release of remaining hostages, and reasserting deterrence across every border. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have prioritized targeting Hamas’s tunnel infrastructure, command centers, and weapons depots—assets frequently hidden within or beneath civilian sites. These tactics, well-documented by military intelligence, are integral to Hamas’s strategy of using Gaza’s population as human shields. Israel’s efforts to minimize civilian casualties include providing advance warnings of operations, designating safe routes, and facilitating the movement of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in coordination with international partners. Despite these steps, civilian suffering remains severe, which Israel attributes to Hamas’s deliberate entrenchment within civilian areas and its exploitation of humanitarian crises for propaganda.
The ongoing hostage crisis is a painful core of the conflict. Among those still captive in Gaza are children, women, elderly, and international nationals—all innocent victims unlawfully held by terror squads. Their forcible abduction is a gross violation of international law. Israel rejects any moral equivalence between these innocent hostages and convicted terrorists occasionally released in exchange, underscoring the difference between democratic due process and criminal hostage-taking.
On Israel’s northern border, Hezbollah—backed by Iran and equipped with an arsenal of over 100,000 rockets—has launched sustained cross-border attacks since October, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israeli civilians and threatening to ignite a wider regional war. In tandem, Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen have executed missile strikes and assaults on Israeli and Western interests, further confirming the coordinated nature of Iran’s proxy warfare.
Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, assert that Israel’s campaign is an act of self-defense—a necessary response to existential threats. They emphasize that Israel operates within the confines of international law, striving to protect its civilian population while targeting terror infrastructure. By contrast, Iranian proxies are documented to intentionally target civilians, violate sovereignty, and weaponize humanitarian suffering.
The United States has reiterated its strategic support for Israel, supplying defensive systems like Iron Dome and facilitating international diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages and address the humanitarian needs of Gaza residents. Meanwhile, divisions within the international community have grown sharper, with some organizations and states issuing statements perceived in Israel as one-sided or failing to acknowledge the nature and scope of Iranian-sponsored terrorism. Israeli officials stress the necessity for clarity: there is no symmetry between a democracy acting in self-defense and terror groups engaged in systematic atrocities.
Humanitarian concerns remain acute, but Israeli analysts and officials insist that sustainable improvement in Gaza can only be achieved by dismantling Hamas’s capacity to wage war and monopolize resources. Investigations and intelligence have repeatedly exposed Hamas’s diversion of aid for military purposes, including the construction of tunnels and fortifications beneath civilian infrastructure and the use of medical and UN facilities for command and control. Israel, in coordination with international partners, continues to work to safeguard delivery and distribution of aid while seeking ways to enable the recovery and reconstruction of critical infrastructure once hostilities subside.
Strategically, Israel’s ongoing operations against the Iranian-led terror axis stand as a critical test for the rules-based international order. Israel sees itself not just as defending its people, but also as defending the broader principles of civil society against a concerted campaign of genocidal violence, antisemitism, and regional destabilization. The October 7 massacre, and the subsequent revelations of multinational proxy involvement, underscore the stakes of this conflict for global security and for the future of the Middle East.
In summary, Israel’s fight extends beyond immediate self-defense: it embodies the global challenge posed by Iran’s export of terror, the imperative to distinguish between victims and perpetrators, and the resolve to secure freedom and security in the face of unprecedented aggression. The outcome will shape not only Israel’s own future but also the trajectory of international engagement with the forces of extremism and terror.
