Jerusalem: For nearly two decades, Israel avoided all-out war with its biggest enemies.

It fought contained conflicts with Hamas, but ultimately allowed the group to retain power in the Gaza Strip. It maintained an uneasy calm with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, even as its fighters entrenched themselves in southern Lebanon. And despite planning a major assault on Iran, it limited its attacks to smaller, clandestine operations.

Fire and smoke rise into the sky after an Israeli attack on Iran’s Shahran oil depot this week.Credit: Getty

Israel’s massive, ongoing assault on Iran highlights an extraordinary shift in Israeli military doctrine since Hamas, Iran’s Palestinian ally, attacked the country in October 2023. It is a change that has redrawn the power dynamics in the Middle East, unravelled Iran’s regional alliance and enshrined Israel as the dominant military force in the region.

Having given Hamas years to prepare for the October 7 attack, Israel reversed course afterward to unleash one of the most destructive campaigns in recent warfare. It then assassinated most of Hezbollah’s leadership and decimated large parts of southern Lebanon. Now, in Iran, it is carrying out the kind of broad and brazen attack that it long threatened but never dared to enact.

“We are changing the face of the Middle East,” said Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press briefing Monday. “And this could lead to far-reaching changes within Iran itself.”

For now, that second claim remains unproven. The Israeli military campaign has weakened Iran, but it has not yet destroyed the country’s nuclear program or collapsed its government, and it may still fall short of both. The war could also devolve into an intractable quagmire with no exit strategy or off........

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