Escalating Conflict and Strategic Tactics in the Middle East

Six months after Iranian-backed terrorists perpetrated the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, Israel’s ground war against Hamas in Gaza, its conflict with Lebanon-based Hezbollah in Israel’s north, and Tehran’s multi-front shadow war against the Jewish state continue.

For a status update, host Cliff May is joined by his FDD colleagues Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power, and Brigadier General (Res.) Jacob Nagel, a visiting fellow at FDD and former Israeli national security advisor under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

They discuss Israel’s withdrawal of most troops from Gaza; the necessity of closing the tunnels from Egypt through which Hamas has received huge quantities of arms and ammunition; the difficulties of providing aid to Gazans while Hamas holds hostages and kills Israelis whenever possible; where Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif are likely hiding; and the strategic imperative of defeating the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah.

They also discuss President Biden’s wavering support for Israel; Israel’s April 1 assassination of an IRGC-QF commander in Damascus; and Tehran’s threat to take revenge.