Two years into its longest war, Israel can point to a long list of achievements that have dramatically improved its security after the unconscionable lapses, with their devastating consequences, before and on the morning of October 7, 2023.
Iran’s armed proxy network, once dug in on Israel’s borders with increasingly sophisticated weapons, has largely become a deterred, neutered axis.
Hezbollah, until last year the world’s most powerful terrorist army, saw its leadership repeatedly decapitated by Israeli airstrikes once Jerusalem finally decided to invade southern Lebanon in late 2024. Its forces in disarray and unable to contest IDF ground maneuvers across its entire front with Israel, Hezbollah agreed to humiliating ceasefire terms that amount to a clear defeat.
Without Hezbollah troops available to prop him up, and with Israeli jets blocking Iran from sending reinforcements, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad fell last December. Tehran’s land bridge to Israel’s borders dissipated overnight.
Published originally on October 8, 2025.
Read the full article at the Times of Israel.
