With the continuation of the current threats to Israel from the northern front, the ongoing war in Gaza and its extension to Rafah in the south, the continuation of the Iranian-Israeli confrontations, and the absence of any indication that a truce agreement is imminent, is Israel able to wage war on several fronts simultaneously? If estimates are correct that show Israel possesses an abundance of military power, it certainly can.
Specific vision
Israel's strategic vision focuses on the fact that it has the capabilities to wage war on multiple fronts. At the same time, War Cabinet Member, Benny Gantz, wanted to confirm that Israel would address all threats and would deal with them directly. Israel is determined to remove any threat to its survival regionally. Moreover, it wants to restore its prestige, status, and military capabilities to its pre-October 7 status.
This Israeli vision stems from affirming the principles of confrontation, whether with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements, or with Hezbollah, or even with other factions in Syria, Iraq, and the southern Red Sea.
Military confirmations
The comprehensive war scenario was strengthened further after Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevy, approved combat plans on the northern front. This move coincided with the Israeli Air Force's assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guard leaders. Among the most important Iranian leaders assassinated by Israel in recent years are Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who was killed in an Israeli raid on the Iranian consulate headquarters in Damascus, and Brigadier General Reza Mousavi, the supply official for the Revolutionary Guard forces, who was killed in December 2023 in Syria in an Israeli missile strike. Last January, Hajjatullah Amidwar, the intelligence official of the Revolutionary Guards and the Quds Force in Syria, was killed in an Israeli air strike west of Damascus. It also happened when Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, held consultations with Israel's leadership regarding the extent of readiness and endurance for war.
Therefore, can Israel enter into a war on two or three fronts?That is not within the framework of non-periodic confrontations as is happening, but rather a comprehensive war with another party such as Hezbollah? The winner-winner-loser equation remains on the table, especially since Israeli capabilities are diminishing despite concluding an arms deal with the US, and concluding a third one during the past few weeks, which the Defense Minister Gallant completed. Therefore, the problem is not in obtaining American weapons. In an emergency deal signed by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and not by Congress on the recommendation of the Ministry of Defense, but rather in the reputation of Israeli weapons in the world.
The Gaza war has undoubtedly arrived, so there is no doubt that the rules of engagement will change depending on what is happening globally, especially since the war with Hezbollah, and its tools and qualitative capabilities, are changing. However, there is no comparison between the Palestinian resistance, the capabilities of the Hamas movement and the Hezbollah forces. Israel fears the consequences of confronting Hezbollah as the ongoing Gaza war is likely to extend to become a regional conflict, something that the US Administration is strongly opposing and warning of its serious repercussions.
Disciplined strategy
The strategy of deterrence and counter-deterrence will remain in place between Hezbollah, Iran and Israel. However, no one guarantees that confrontations will not occur by mistake, and in the context of the ongoing Israeli escalation and the lifting of the state of emergency along the border areas. Therefore, the current war in Gaza has moved onto a new phase with security arrangements made by Israel in the context of the continuation of current confrontations, while waiting for upcoming developments related to the success or failure of the truce. This development raises other issues too such as politics, including sector governance, managing it, or entering into areas of non-periodic confrontation, while remaining on the ground. Israel will continue to rely on its capabilities at home while periodically searching for administrative rule in the Gaza Strip and putting forward a vision for an international, regional, or Arab security presence.
Until that is done, Israel will continue with its approach of continuing truce negotiations, and not being drawn into the opposition's calls to enter into early elections.
Photo: Can Israel fight a war on two fronts? by Adobe.