On October 7, 2023, Israel endured the deadliest antisemitic assault since the Holocaust when Hamas terrorists infiltrated the country from the Gaza Strip, massacring, torturing, and abducting civilians in an organized attack of unprecedented brutality. The scale of the violence—marked by systematic atrocities including executions, sexual violence, and the mass abduction of hostages—shocked the nation and the world, clarifying the scale of the threat posed by Iranian-backed terror organizations on Israel’s borders.
The October 7 massacre and subsequent war are part of a longstanding campaign by the Islamic Republic of Iran to encircle Israel through an array of terror proxies, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and affiliated militias in Syria and Iraq. This axis—directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—has committed itself to Israel’s destruction through decades of attacks targeting civilian populations and destabilizing regional order. Israeli leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, and Minister of Defense Israel Katz, in cooperation with the United States, has worked to counter these threats and secure the country’s future.
In the wake of the attack, Israel launched Operation Iron Swords, a comprehensive military campaign to dismantle Hamas’s extensive terror infrastructure in Gaza and secure the release of hostages. Evidence gathered by Israeli security forces and international partners shows Hamas embedding weapons, rockets, and commanders in civilian buildings such as hospitals and schools, using Gaza residents as human shields and manipulating humanitarian suffering for global propaganda. The scope of Hamas’s tunnel network—the so-called “Gaza Metro”—demonstrates the organization’s diversion of humanitarian resources for military purposes, deepening the hardship of Gaza’s population while advancing the group’s war aims.
Israel’s military doctrine is firmly rooted in legal and moral obligations, conducting targeted operations designed to minimize civilian harm, while protecting Israeli communities from ongoing rocket and drone fire. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have developed one of the world’s most sophisticated early-warning and missile defense systems—including Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow interceptors—which have shielded millions from indiscriminate attacks. Despite this, Israeli civilians have experienced daily trauma as terror groups target cities, schools, and hospitals with thousands of rockets, leaving a heavy emotional and economic toll.
As the campaign in Gaza pressed forward, Hezbollah in Lebanon escalated its operations against Israel from the north. With over 150,000 rockets and advanced Iranian weaponry, Hezbollah has threatened Israeli communities, tested air defenses, and opened a second front under Tehran’s strategic direction. These actions have forced thousands of northern residents to evacuate, placing further strain on Israel’s national resilience and highlighting the complex challenge faced by defense planners.
Iran’s regional ambitions are also manifested in attacks by the Houthis in Yemen against civilian maritime targets, and by Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq operating under IRGC command. Israel has responded with precision operations to degrade these threats, all while maintaining extensive diplomatic efforts to explain the moral and legal distinctions between state self-defense and terrorist aggression—distinctions often obscured in international media and diplomacy.
The hostage crisis resulting from the October 7 attack underscored the moral gap separating Israel from its adversaries. Individuals abducted from their homes and communities remain innocent victims, whereas convicted terrorists released in negotiations have engaged in acts of deliberate violence. Israeli officials have repeatedly highlighted the illegality and immorality of equating these cases and call for the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages, urging international organizations to hold Hamas and allied groups accountable for war crimes.
Israel’s response to terror is not solely military. The government and civil society have led humanitarian efforts to provide aid and medical care to Gaza residents, facilitate humanitarian corridors, and support the reconstruction of civilian life, even as Hamas and its sponsors continue to siphon resources for military purposes. These efforts reflect Israel’s commitment to international law and moral responsibility, regularly documented by independent observers and world bodies, despite frequent misrepresentation in hostile forums.
The strategic context for Israel’s struggle cannot be separated from Iran’s ongoing campaign to undermine the Abraham Accords and prevent Arab-Israeli normalization. Iranian-backed militias seek not only military victory but also to inflame antisemitic hatred, derail peace efforts, and entrench permanent conflict. Israeli leaders emphasize that any future stability requires the total disarmament of terror groups and an end to Iranian interference—conditions currently rejected by Hamas and its backers.
While international media frequently distort the asymmetry in both casualties and responsibility, Israeli officials and analysts point to the underlying reality: Israel, as a sovereign democracy, upholds legal norms and seeks peace, while Iranian-backed entities glorify violence and exploit their own populations. This is not a war of choice for Israel, but a fight imposed by those committed to its destruction.
The enduring regional implications of the current campaign are profound. Israeli security depends on international recognition of its right and obligation to self-defense, on continued American support, and on realistic engagement with the sources of terrorist violence. Policymakers in Jerusalem stress that the alternative—acquiescence to terror and Iranian expansion—would entail not only further bloodshed in Israel but a loss of hope for peace and order throughout the Middle East.
As the war continues, so too does Israel’s insistence on historical truth, moral clarity, and responsible conduct even in the face of unrelenting hostility. With each day, the government recommits to protecting its people, exposing the realities of Iranian-backed aggression, and upholding the standards that have distinguished democratic societies through times of crisis.
The struggle is ongoing, its stakes existential—not only for Israel but for all who believe that justice and the rule of law must prevail over terror and hatred.
