The Cost of Victory: Israel Overpowered Its Foes, but Deepened Its Isolation
After three-quarters of a century fighting hostile neighbors, the tiny Jewish country, about the size of New Jersey, has all but vanquished its enemies — Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, Houthis in Yemen and now even Iran itself, the one backing them all.
The exercise of raw power has allowed Israel, for the first time since its creation in 1948, a future mostly free from immediate threats. The risk of a nuclear Iran is diminished, or perhaps gone. Israel has stable, if uneasy, relations with Persian Gulf Arab states. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cemented his partnership with President Trump.
The new reality in Israel, said Yaakov Amidror, a retired Israeli general and former top aide to Mr. Netanyahu, is that places once under constant threat from Lebanon, Syria or Gaza 'will be more secure than Manhattan.'
But at what cost?
Mr. Netanyahu's relentless and unapologetic military response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people and took 250 people hostage has cemented the view of Israel as a pariah, its leadership accused of genocide and war crimes, and disdained by some world leaders. In opinion polls globally, most people have a negative view of Israel.
In Gaza, the war against Hamas has taken a devastating toll, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving more than a million homeless and hungry. Much of the enclave has been reduced to rubble. Poverty and hopelessness are rampant.
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have also been killed and officials believe about 20 living hostages are still imprisoned in Hamas tunnels after 631 days.
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