The tragic backdrop to this year was the continuing Israeli air strikes on Hamas in Gaza. the misery of the besieged Palestinians; And the suffering of the Israeli hostages and their families.
But what changed the rules of the game was a much larger attack: Israel launched an attack on its arch enemy, Iran.
In September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech to the UN General Assembly: “I have a message to the tyrants of Tehran: If you hit us, we will hit you.”
Armed with billions of dollars in American weapons, Israel attacked the Iranian proxy militia Hezbollah in Lebanon, with ground and air forces.
Israel also assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and booby-trapped hundreds of pagers, dismembering and demoralizing Hezbollah fighters.
Ayatollah Khamenei put on a brave face when he told his supporters earlier this month: “With God’s power… our resistance will expand now.”
But the regime was insulted. Even the hundreds of cruise missiles that Iran launched at Israel, most of them were intercepted and did not cause significant damage.
Tehran also lost in Syria, when Islamist fighters overthrew its ally, dictator Bashar al-Assad, invaded major cities and declared victory.
2024 has been a year of seismic change in the Middle East, and only one thing is certain: the region will never be the same again.
Add to the mix Donald Trump, whose foreign policy will be (to say the least) destructive, and 2025 may offer either a fragile peace…or disaster.
The story was produced by Mark Hudspeth. Editor: Chad Carden.
