Three years ago, Israel suffered the worst terrorist attack in its history. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas stormed communities across southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and dragging 251 others into Gaza as hostages.

The assault also exposed the bankruptcy of the assumptions that had guided Israeli policy for years.

What followed was far more than war in Gaza. Over the next three years, Israel found itself fighting on as many as seven fronts and fundamentally rethinking how it confronts the threats arrayed against it. The results have been striking.

A map redrawn from Gaza to the Red Sea

To its north, Israel has severely degraded the capabilities of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, killing much of its senior leadership, including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, and sharply reducing the threat the group poses.

In the process, it has loosened Hezbollah's longtime stranglehold on Lebanese politics. In March, Beirut took the unprecedented step of banning the group's military activities, a sign that real change there may finally be possible.

Against Iran, Israel has shown an unprecedented ability to penetrate the regime's defenses. During the 12-day war in June 2025, Israel – with U.S. help – inflicted serious damage on Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missile arsenal. And while the ongoing war with Iran has settled into something of a U.S.-Iranian stalemate, Israel has at least helped puncture........

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