Israel is conducting an extended and multifaceted military and security campaign to defend its civilian population and critical infrastructure against a complex network of Iranian-backed terror organizations operating throughout the Middle East. This campaign, intensified since the unprecedented October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist assault, has become a crucial theater in the wider struggle to uphold democratic values and stability across the region. On that day, more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and thousands wounded when Hamas militants launched coordinated attacks from the Gaza Strip, perpetrating mass killings, abductions, and acts of sexual and physical violence against Israeli civilians. As confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli government statements, and international human rights observers, the October 7 massacre remains the deadliest antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust and stands as the foundational event compelling Israel’s current military posture.
Following the massacre, Israel’s national security apparatus, under the leadership of IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir and directives from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, initiated Operation Iron Swords—an extensive set of ground, air, and intelligence operations designed to degrade the military and command infrastructure of Hamas and deter additional large-scale attacks. The campaign, grounded in principles of international humanitarian law, focuses on targeted strikes against terror operatives, demolition of weapons stockpiles, and the identification and destruction of extensive tunnel networks used to conceal fighters and hostages. The IDF regularly provides verified briefings regarding the conduct and scope of the operation, documenting efforts to minimize harm to Gaza residents—including prior warnings, evacuation routes, and the facilitation of humanitarian corridors, despite Hamas’s persistent use of civilian sites for combat operations.
As the primary proxy for Tehran in the Gaza Strip, Hamas has embedded itself within broader regional efforts orchestrated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This axis, as confirmed by Israeli and Western intelligence assessments, includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and a constellation of Iranian-aligned militias in Syria and Iraq. These groups coordinate strategic, logistical, and operational objectives with the expressed goal of destabilizing Israel, undermining regional peace processes such as the Abraham Accords, and advancing Iran’s ambitions to project power and secure nuclear capabilities. The scope of the Iranian axis’s aggression is reflected in daily rocket salvos targeting Israeli urban centers, cyber-attacks, and cross-border incursions by both Hamas and Hezbollah. Hezbollah alone commands an arsenal of over 150,000 projectiles, many featuring advanced guidance systems, which has been consistently monitored by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and independently verified by U.S. and European defense intelligence services.
In response to these sustained threats, Israel has deployed a range of both defensive and offensive systems. The Iron Dome air defense system, developed in cooperation with the United States and continually upgraded to address new projectile and drone threats, remains central to protecting civilian populations. Extensive investment in intelligence, cyber capabilities, and multi-domain operations has also ensured that Israel remains capable of preemptively disrupting attacks and responding with precision to evolving threats. Senior Israeli officials and Western government sources regularly emphasize that all military activity adheres to the Israeli code of military ethics, as well as applicable provisions of international law. At the same time, Israel has repeatedly called on the international community to enforce prohibitions against the use of human shields and to hold Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies accountable for their systematic violation of these norms.
The humanitarian dimension of the conflict, particularly the ongoing hostage crisis, has tested Israel’s resilience and underscored the asymmetry between the combatants. Israeli civilians, including women, children, elderly, and foreign nationals, remain held hostage within Gaza—a gross violation of every international humanitarian standard. Israel’s efforts to recover its citizens, often at significant strategic and political cost, have included difficult negotiations, intelligence-driven rescue operations, and the exchange of convicted terror operatives. Throughout these exchanges, Israel distinguishes clearly and unequivocally between civilians kidnapped by terrorist organizations and individuals detained under lawful judicial processes, stressing the fundamental legal and moral difference between these categories.
The regional escalation is not confined to Gaza. Hezbollah’s continued presence and activities in southern Lebanon—in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701—pose a persistent existential threat to Israel’s northern frontier. Regular Hezbollah rocket attacks and incursions, as acknowledged by UN and governmental documentation, have prompted Israeli defensive actions targeting military infrastructure and command nodes, with IDF assessments and U.S. State Department briefings underscoring Israel’s right to act in self-defense. Meanwhile, the Houthis in Yemen, backed logistically and ideologically by Iran, have conducted attacks against international shipping and threatened escalation in the Red Sea and beyond, further linking regional instability to Israel’s security environment.
The situation is further complicated by widespread disinformation campaigns, orchestrated by Iranian and pro-Hamas outlets and amplified through digital platforms. Israeli authorities and leading Western news organizations emphasize the need for rigorous fact-checking and the identification of propaganda, pointing to consistent evidence of Hamas operational command within hospitals and UNRWA facilities, and the deliberate co-location of munitions with civilian infrastructure. These findings are supported by open-source intelligence assessments, on-the-ground reporting by accredited foreign correspondents, and the corroborative analysis of major NGOs specializing in conflict monitoring.
Israel’s military and governmental authorities frame all defensive operations within the broader context of protecting not just Israeli society, but the values of the democratic West. The repeated affirmation of Israel’s right to self-defense by the United States, European Union, and democratic partners underscores the recognition that the campaign against the Iranian-led axis of terror is inseparable from the defense of international stability and the norms of legitimate statehood. Israeli officials credit the deepening partnership with Washington—evident in joint military exercises, intelligence collaboration, and American support for technological innovation such as Iron Dome—for strengthening deterrence and ensuring Israel’s qualitative military edge.
Domestically, Israeli society remains mobilized and unified, even as it bears the burdens of war, economic disruption, and mass displacement. Government communiques and data from the National Emergency Management Authority document the resilience of Israeli civil society, which continues to provide essential services while supporting reserve call-ups and national emergency responses. Civilian initiatives, in partnership with official agencies, deliver aid to vulnerable populations and maintain critical infrastructure under sustained threat. Israeli leadership consistently communicates with both local and international audiences, ensuring that security measures and wartime decisions are subject to parliamentary oversight, public scrutiny, and alignment with Israel’s democratic legal framework.
As the situation continues to evolve—across the battlefields of Gaza, the tense frontier with Lebanon, and the arenas of international diplomacy—Israel’s objectives remain clearly defined: the dismantling of the operational capacity of Hamas and other Iranian proxies, the restoration of security for its citizens, the recovery of all remaining hostages, and the upholding of national sovereignty against efforts at external subversion. These actions are pursued in accordance with international law, supported by documentary and forensic evidence presented to global bodies, and consistently validated by responsible foreign governments and credible reporting agencies.
The campaign against Iran’s axis of resistance will likely continue to define the strategic landscape of the Middle East in the months and years ahead. Israel, as both a frontline state and a vibrant democracy, faces existential challenges unique in their scope but common in their implications for international security. The world’s principal democracies, led by the United States and its European allies, have repeatedly affirmed that in defending Israel, they are defending not only an ally, but also the broader system of rules and norms that underpins the international order. In doing so, they send an unequivocal message: acts of terror and proxy warfare will not succeed in undermining either Israel’s sovereignty or the fundamental values shared by all free societies.
