Tension in the Middle East intensifies with each passing day.
In recent weeks, Israel has made it clearer than ever that its offensive is not solely focused on Hamasthe Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, but is much broader and includes Hezbollah, in Lebanon, and the Houthis, in Yemen.
These groups are part of the “axis of resistance”, an alliance promoted and led by Iran in the region, of which Syria and the Shiite militias in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, among others, are also part.
Markedly anti-American and anti-Israel, these political and military allies have for decades been a major threat to Israel.
But since October 7, 2023 – when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli territory that left 1,200 dead – the conflict between both sides has intensified.
The consequences have been devastating: so far, as a result of the Israeli offensive, around 41,500 people have died in Gaza, while the authorities in Lebanon They say that in that country the figure already exceeds 1,000 deaths, in addition to a million displaced people.
How is the country led by Benjamin Netanyahu facing the “axis of resistance”? And what are the most important characteristics of this alliance led by Iran?
Hezbollah in Lebanon
The Israeli offensive has several flanks.
In addition to Hamas – which Israel promised to “crush and destroy” after October 7 – the Lebanese Islamic organization Hezbollahone of the oldest, most powerful and sophisticatedly armed groups in the “axis of resistance,” represents a key enemy for the Israelis.
This group operates from Lebanon (which shares a border with Israel), where it has gradually gained influence in its political system.
Although for almost a year the situation in Lebanon has been progressively deteriorating – Hezbollah began launching attacks towards northern Israel demanding a ceasefire in Gaza -, the last few weeks have been critical.
On September 28, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that, after an air operation in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, they had killed the secretary general and leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
His death was described by Netanyahu as a “historic turning point” in his fight against the militia, while Hezbollah vowed revenge.
In addition to Nasrallah, the Israeli army claimed to have killed at least 20 senior leaders of the Shiite group.
These attacks appear to be a sign that Netanhayu is determined to defend his promise to find “the balance of security and power” on Israel’s northern border that it shares with Lebanon.
In addition, the Israeli army began an invasion in southern Lebanon early Tuesday morning “against Hezbollah’s terrorist targets and infrastructure.”
In this context, although both parties maintain that they do not want the war to escalate, the fear that an all-out war will break out in the Middle East is increasing.
The trigger for the latest escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah was a series of attacks attributed to the Israelis in which they exploded communication devices –beepers and walkie talkies– used by members of Hezbollah.
These explosions killed at least 39 people and left thousands injured.
Attacks in Yemen
But Israel has not only carried out new attacks against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, but also on Sunday, September 29, it launched a wave of bombings in Yemen, country south of the Arabian Peninsula, to hit the military positions of the Shiite Houthi rebels.
The Houthis – who control large areas of Yemen – They are also part of the “axis of resistance” and support Hamas and Hezbollah in their fight against Israel.
Since the conflict with Israeli forces intensified, this armed group has launched missiles and drones against cargo ships that have tried to cross the Suez Canal bound for the West from the East and vice versa.
The Houthis have received military training from Hezbollah and are suspected of supplying them with weapons from Iran. Since 2015 they have faced a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, Tehran’s great regional rival.
Israel’s attack in Yemen this Sunday left at least four dead and 33 wounded, the Houthis said.
The port of Al Hudaydah, in the east of the country, was one of the targets. According to Israeli military authorities, the attack sought to stop arms imports from Iran.
An electrical power plant would also have been affected, according to the Houthi authorities, who assured that these attacks will not make them give up their support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
“Yemeni support will not stopour attacks against the Zionist enemy will not stop,” said the Houthi press.
Iran and the articulation of the “axis of resistance”
Iran is the main sponsor of the “axis of resistance.”
This regional power has also been targeted by Israeli forces.
Last April, Israel launched an offensive on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, in which, among others, Brigadier General Mohamed Reza Zahedi, one of the highest-ranking commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, died.
After this, Iran responded with an unprecedented attack with drones and missiles against Israelwhich was repelled by the latter.
And although that episode was one of the most tense in the historic confrontation between both countries, with Israel’s latest attacks on Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, there has been much speculation about a possible Iranian military response.
And these armed groups are crucial for Iran to maintain its geopolitical influence in the region.
“Iran has managed to have loyal allies and representatives in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. “All of them are used by Tehran to promote its political objectives,” he explained to BBC Mundo. Lina Khatibdirector of the London-based SOAS Middle East Institute, in an interview in October last year.
The architect of this network of Iranian influence was Qasem Soleimaniwho was the commander of the elite Quds group of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, an organization responsible for the covert military actions of Iranian forces abroad and through which Tehran’s ties with groups and militias in other countries are articulated.
Soleimani was assassinated by the United States in January 2020 in a drone attack as he left the airport in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
According to Lina Khatib, the vast majority of the militias that make up the axis “arose from grievances against the political realities of their countries.”
Thus, “they generated local popular support by presenting themselves as groups that sought to change the status quo to improve it,” explained the academic.
Little by little they became key political actors, to the point that many of them have more support among the population than among their own governments.
“We are talking about enormously influential groups that have achieved more political power than others in the region,” Khatib said.
Hezbollah, for example, has had a political arm since 2006 and plays an important role in that country’s politics. He even has veto power in the cabinet.
A similar situation exists in Iraq, where Iran has been an ally of the Shiite militias that have fought against the self-proclaimed Islamic State since 2014 and that have grouped themselves into the so-called Popular Mobilization Forceswhich today constitute an important actor in the political system of that country.
What can happen?
The expansion of Israel’s attacks in the Middle East reflects how this country wants to end not only Hamas in Gaza, but the entire “axis of resistance” led by Iran.
Although many analysts agree that a large-scale war can still be avoided, since neither Iran, Israel nor Hezbollah want to fight it, there have been some signals that have raised alarm bells, especially the Israeli decision to launch a ground offensive against its neighbor. northern.
This Monday, Netanyahu sent a message to the people of Iran in a video published on X in which he accuses the Iranian regime of sinking “to our region deeper into the darkness and deeper into the war.”
The Prime Minister of Israel also issued a warning: “There is no place in the Middle East that Israel cannot reach. “There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country.”
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