The current situation in the Middle East cannot be understood as a mere military escalation or a sequence of isolated confrontations. It represents a historical turning point, revealing the exhaustion of a regional domination model sustained by Israel’s military supremacy and the strategic backing of the United States.

For decades, the Zionist regime operated under the premise of its own invincibility. This assumption not only structured its military doctrine but also secured its privileged position within the international system, allowing it to act with broad impunity in the face of repeated violations of international law.

However, this so-called invincibility was less an objective reality and more a political construct, sustained by three fundamental pillars: military asymmetry vis-à-vis its immediate adversaries, unconditional support from Western powers — particularly the United States — and the construction of an international narrative that framed its actions as defensive.

Recent developments show that all three pillars are now eroding simultaneously.

In the Gaza Strip, after a prolonged cycle of military operations marked by extreme levels of destruction and the genocide of Palestinians, Israel has failed to achieve its strategic objectives.

In the Gaza Strip, after a prolonged cycle of military operations marked by extreme levels of destruction and the genocide of Palestinians, Israel has failed to achieve its strategic objectives.

Palestinian resistance, far from being eliminated, has remained a relevant political and military force.

This impasse exposes a structural contradiction: the inability of a colonial domination project to translate military superiority into stable political control.

In the north of the occupied Palestinian territories, Hezbollah’s consolidated deterrence capacity imposes concrete limits on Israeli military action. In Yemen, forces aligned with the resistance axis have demonstrated the ability to interfere in global strategic dynamics, increasing the costs of conflict for the Western bloc.

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Taken together, these developments point to a qualitative transformation in the regional environment. Israel no longer operates in a space of uncontested superiority, but in a scenario of growing containment and sustained pressure.

The decisive element in this shift, however, lies in the confrontation with Iran.

Iran’s response to the aggression carried out by Israel and the United States marks a turning point by introducing a new pattern of regional deterrence. By demonstrating the capacity to strike strategic targets and impose real costs, Tehran has broken with the logic that, for decades, underpinned Israel’s freedom of action.

This rupture carries structural implications. The possibility of conducting offensive operations without facing proportional retaliation — a cornerstone of Israeli strategy — is no longer sustainable.

As a result, the so-called Axis of Resistance moves beyond a reactive posture and begins to constitute an active pole of strategic balance.

At the same time, there is a visible erosion in the United States’ ability to sustain its hegemonic position in the region. While support for Israel remains central, it is no longer sufficient to guarantee stability or to contain the growing capacity of regional actors to respond.

The exposure of US military bases, the rising costs of regional engagement and the increasing questioning of Washington’s political legitimacy point to clear limits on its power projection.

This process suggests not merely a conjunctural crisis, but a broader reconfiguration of the international order in the Middle East.

The transformation underway is not limited to the military sphere. It is accompanied by a significant erosion of Israel’s international legitimacy.

The transformation underway is not limited to the military sphere. It is accompanied by a significant erosion of Israel’s international legitimacy.

Military operations in Gaza have intensified accusations of serious violations of international humanitarian law, contributing to a perceptible shift in global public opinion. Social mobilisations, boycott campaigns and the growing recognition of the State of Palestine indicate a turning point in the dominant narrative.

In this context, the Palestinian question reasserts itself not as a conflict between equal parties, but as a struggle for national liberation against a regime of occupation and colonisation.

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The accumulated setbacks suffered by Israel and the United States — in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and, decisively, in the confrontation with Iran — must be understood as manifestations of a deeper process: the exhaustion of a model of domination based on military supremacy and external intervention.

Within this context, the Axis of Resistance emerges not merely as a collection of reactive actors, but as a rising strategic pole capable of redefining the regional balance of power.

This transformation points toward the emergence of a new geopolitical configuration in the Middle East, in which the ability to impose costs on the dominant axis reshapes traditional power parameters.

The so-called “myth of Israel’s invincibility” was not merely symbolic — it was a structural element of its political and military strategy. Its erosion does not imply the immediate collapse of Israeli power, but it does signal the onset of a phase of structural crisis, in which the foundations of its hegemony no longer operate as before.

What is unfolding in the Middle East is the transition from a regional order centred on external domination to a configuration in which historically marginalised actors assume a central role in shaping the region’s political and strategic future.

More than the end of a myth, this is the beginning of a new paradigm.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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