Ahe day after the massacre of October 7, the Israeli government stated its war aims: “to eradicate Hamas, to free the hostages, to prevent Gaza from remaining a threat to the security of Israel.”
More than a year after the start of Operation “Iron Sword”, the results are mixed. Hamas emerges considerably weakened. The IDF claimed in July 2024 that 60% of the Islamist movement’s fighters had been eliminated, without this figure being verifiable. While the Gaza Strip has become a field of ruins under artillery fire and bombardments by the Israeli army, clashes are still reported in the enclave. Despite the death on October 17 of their leader, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas fighters are still targeting Israeli soldiers who hold the Netzarim corridor with mortars. This sort of no man’s land cuts the Gaza Strip in two and is forbidden to Palestinians. Regularly, videos of Hamas snipers are posted online, maintaining permanent pressure on the IDF. Rocket fire from Gaza, although more sporadic, nevertheless continues to target Hebrew territory.
Of the 251 hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023, around fifty were released in November 2023, during a first release and ceasefire agreement, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. A handful of hostages were freed by IDF special forces, who also found several bodies. Of the 94 people still officially hostages of Hamas and its allies, 34 would be affected by the future agreement.
Hezbollah weakened
Besides Hamas and the release of hostages, other war aims have been added over the course of the conflict against Iran and its proxies. On the northern border of Israel, first, where the Lebanese Hezbollah opened a secondary front in support of Hamas on October 8. Nearly 60,000 Israelis had to evacuate towns and villages under constant threat of rocket fire from the Party of God. After redeploying its forces to the north, Israel decapitated the movement. First by simultaneously detonating thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah executives, killing 9 people and injuring 2,800 others, then walkie-talkies. An intense bombing campaign again targeted the cadres, weapons caches and invasion tunnels.
Leader of Hezbollah since 1992, Hassan Nasrallah was killed on September 27, 2024, during an Israeli strike in southern Beirut. A few days later, the IDF advanced into Lebanon for a ground operation targeting Hezbollah depots. A month later, a ceasefire agreement was signed, providing in particular for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon within sixty days. Hezbollah also emerged weakened from the conflict, even if its arsenal of ballistic missiles was not used – or only little. Although the border with the Land of Cedar is secure, the 60,000 evacuated Israelis have still not returned home.
To Discover
Kangaroo of the day
Answer
Behind its Lebanese proxy, Iran ends up being on the front line. In April 2024, Israel targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus, where a senior member of the Revolutionary Guards was killed. Tehran responds by targeting Hebrew territory for the first time with drones and ballistic missiles. Israel responds with a series of smaller strikes. A new strike from Tehran took place in October to avenge the death of Nasrallah. This time, the Israeli response is more significant, targeting missile manufacturing sites while taking care to spare nuclear or oil sites. The two countries have remained at that ever since.
Now the biggest threat appears to come from the Houthis in Yemen, who, in addition to threatening maritime traffic in the Red Sea, have fired some ballistic missiles at Israel. Here again, the Jewish state immediately responded by bombing production sites. Since October 7, 2023, the IDF has lost 891 soldiers.
