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Israel Has Reshaped the Middle East
(Jewish Chronicle-UK) Yossi Melman - Beginning on Sep. 17, 2024, Israel's pager sabotage operation, one of the most astonishing feats of intelligence in modern history, triggered a chain reaction. It paved the way for Hizbullah's defeat in Lebanon, regime change in Syria, a blow to Iran's ambitions of Middle Eastern dominance and, ultimately, a reassertion of Israel's military supremacy. The military force of Hizbullah, as well as Hamas in Gaza, has practically evaporated. The most important development in the new reality emerging in the Middle East is the Iranian predicament. In April, Iran decided, for the first time, to directly confront Israel militarily. Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones against Israel. The entire Israeli population found itself in shelters for hours. Yet the Iranian attack turned out to be a colossal failure. For years, IDF generals estimated that Hizbullah and Iranian missile and drone strikes would cause unprecedented damage, killing thousands and inflicting widespread destruction. They were wrong. Israeli air defenses in collaboration with U.S., UK, Jordanian, Saudi and other Western coalition forces, repelled the Iranian attack. In October, Israel retaliated, destroying most of Iran's air defenses and attacking the Parchin military base, where Iran was developing explosives for its nuclear program. The Israeli attack proved to Iranian military, political, and religious leaders that they had been penetrated and exposed by Israel's advanced technology and military supremacy. When Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar executed his brutal massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, he hoped to trigger a wider chain reaction that would change the face of the Middle East. Sinwar's plan worked - except in reverse.