From Gaza to the West Bank, Lebanon and Iran – why is Israel fighting so many wars?

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has been going on for almost a year. However, Israel is not living in just one war.

Israel is fighting on multiple fronts, making this the most complex period of conflict in the country’s 76-year history.

The army in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has been carrying out raids and attacks on militant groups in several Palestinian towns, killing nearly 600 people since October in the biggest operation in the territory for more than two decades.

Last Wednesday, Israel launched its biggest assault in the region in recent months, attacking three cities simultaneously to target militants.

At the same time, on the Israel-Lebanon border, Israel and Hezbollah are constantly attacking each other with rockets and missiles. This group is supported by Iran.

This has brought to the surface Israel’s long-suppressed rivalry with Iran. Both sides launched direct attacks on each other in April. This has raised fears that the war in Gaza could lead to more wars with Iran and its many proxy wars in the Middle East.

Now the question arises, why are these groups fighting Israel, why is it fighting a war to deal with them, and why is it taking so long for these conflicts to end?

Why is Israel still fighting in Gaza?

Despite the destruction of much of Hamas’ military infrastructure and the deaths of thousands of people, there appears to be no end in sight to the war in Gaza. Israel has set a goal of victory: the complete elimination of the Hamas leadership, as well as the release of about 100 hostages still held by the group.

Hamas, by contrast, is simply trying to protect itself in the war. Some of the group’s leaders are believed to be underground and in some cases surrounded by Israeli hostages, making it more challenging for Israel to track down its captives.

Israel’s strategy is also pushing victory further away. Its forces have rapidly withdrawn from most of the territory they captured, in some cases giving Hamas more time to regroup there and prevent it from ending the war that way. Ceasefire talks have also failed, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanting only a temporary ceasefire while Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar calling for a complete end to the fighting.

Why did Israel attack West Bank cities?

When Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the army did not fully evacuate the West Bank and remained there partly to protect the nearly 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are considered illegal by most of the world.

The Israeli military regularly raids and attacks Palestinian towns in the West Bank to stop armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas, from carrying out terrorist attacks on Israelis in those settlements and in Israel itself. Many terrorist groups oppose Israel’s existence. They have become more active in recent years as Israel’s occupation has grown.

Israel has stepped up its attacks on these armed groups since the war in Gaza began. It says they have become more active amid a surge in weapons smuggled in from Iran. Israel also says the Palestinian Authority, which administers Palestinian cities in the West Bank, has become too weak to single-handedly rein in these groups.

The Israeli military says its campaign has killed several key militant commanders and foiled numerous attacks on Israeli civilians. Still, the militants appear to be honing their techniques. Last month, a Palestinian from the West Bank detonated a bomb in Tel Aviv.

This was the first incident of its kind in many years and the Israeli army has cited this incident as the reason behind its raid.

Why is Israel attacking Lebanon?

Hezbollah is a Hamas-linked group that controls large parts of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah began firing at Israel in solidarity with Hamas immediately after the October 7 attack. Since then Israel and Hezbollah have been firing rockets and missiles across the Israel-Lebanon border.

He is also trying to avoid a major ground war that could potentially wreak havoc on both countries. Israeli fighter jets could destroy the Lebanese capital, Beirut, while Hezbollah has thousands of precision-guided missiles that could devastate Israeli cities.

Israel has said it will not stop targeting Hezbollah assets and operatives until it is safe for residents of northern Israel, some 60,000 of whom have been displaced by the fighting, to return home.

However, this seems unlikely. Hezbollah has vowed to continue firing until there is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. With no end in sight to the war in Gaza, the fighting in Lebanon looks set to drag on.

Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut in July following a Lebanese attack on schoolchildren. Experts say there is no solution in sight yet.

Why is Israel fighting with Iran?

For decades, Iran’s leaders have said they want to destroy Israel. The two countries have attacked each other indirectly and both have formed regional alliances to deter the other. Israel sees Iran’s attempts to build nuclear weapons as an existential threat and often attempts to stop it. Until the war in Gaza, both sides tried to deny their attacks. This was mainly to avoid a direct confrontation that could escalate into a full-blown war. Israel has never claimed responsibility for the killing of Iranian officials. Iran has refrained from major public provocations of its own while encouraging proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen as well as Palestinian groups in the West Bank to attack Israel.

They are now fighting openly as the conflict in Gaza has intensified. In April, Israel attacked an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria, killing several senior Iranian commanders.

Iran responded by launching the largest barrage of cruise and ballistic missiles in military history, Iran’s first direct attack on Israel, raising fears of a full-blown war. And when Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh visited Iran in July, Israel shot him down on Iranian soil, after which Iran has vowed to directly attack Israel.

The Israeli argument

Israel says it has no choice but to defend itself against an Iran-led regional coalition that aims not only to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinians but to destroy Israel itself. Israeli officials have stressed how Hamas and Hezbollah attacked Israel first, forcing Israel to respond.

Israelis often cite their withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 as an example of how Israeli efforts have failed.

Hamas won legislative elections in 2006, seized control of Gaza from rival group Fatah a year later, and has used Gaza to launch attacks on Israel, including the October 7 attack, the worst day in Israel’s history. As a result they see force as the only logical deterrent to groups like Hamas.

Many Israelis want to be accepted in the Middle East without the use of force. For now, though, their historical experience is that force often works. It was force, more than diplomacy, that helped the new country survive the wars surrounding its creation in 1948. It was Israel’s strong military that helped it prevail over three enemy states in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It was also the military that repelled a surprise attack by Syria and Egypt in 1973 and helped Israel overcome a wave of suicide bombings in the 2000s. Some Israelis also think their government is showing too much restraint and should strike back more forcefully against Hezbollah and Iran.

How do critics view Israel’s use of force?

Opponents in Gaza say Israel has no regard for civilians. They accuse it of committing genocide, which Israel denies. Israel’s critics in Lebanon, Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East say it has been too provocative in its choice of targets and too reluctant to let diplomacy take its course.

For example, some viewed Israel’s recent attacks on Haniyeh and Hezbollah’s top commander Fuad Shukr as irresponsible intervention.

Israel is also accused of bringing trouble upon itself by failing to agree a peace deal with the Palestinians two decades ago. Critics say Israel compromised little in the talks.

Israeli opponents also view the October 7 attack in the context of the imposition of a 17-year blockade of Gaza by Israel as well as Egypt that prevented many Gazans from traveling abroad, stifled the territory’s economy and cut off access to everyday services such as 3G internet and some forms of basic health care.