Hezbollah and the Future Prospects – Abdul Sattar Al-Jabri 3

Related Articles

In the Realm of the Husseini Epic by Abdul Sattar Al-Jabri 9

34 minutes ago

God’s presence in our lives

1 week ago

I was sent only to perfect good morals03

3 weeks ago

**Episode Three – Al‑Aqsa Flood**

**The Disappearance of Israel**

A statement by the martyred leader Hassan Nasrallah once caught my attention in a video clip published on YouTube. In it he said that Israel would disappear in the year 2025, and perhaps even before that. I did not find a clear explanation for the certainty with which he specified that particular year for the disappearance of Israel. It occurred to me that perhaps there were unseen texts or interpretations connected to matters beyond the visible world that led the martyred leader to identify that year as the end of the Zionist entity.

On a similar note, there were also speculations circulated by some commentators on YouTube claiming that Israel would disappear in 2024. They based their prediction on what they called the “curse of eighty,” arguing that the first Israelite state established thousands of years ago lasted only eighty years, and from this they drew their forecast.

Between the years 2000 and 2023, the region witnessed many developments and transformations. Western powers together with some Arab governments sought to overthrow the government of Bashar al‑Assad after several established regimes in the region had already fallen. The first of these was the Ba‘athist regime in Iraq, which was overthrown by the Western‑led coalition in 2003. Iraq then endured difficult years marked by sectarian conflict that was intensified by regional actors and the Western occupation. Large numbers of people were killed during those years of violence. In 2014, armed groups from both inside and outside Iraq seized large areas of the country.

Subsequently, major political upheavals also affected countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. Attention then turned to Syria, where Western and Gulf alliances attempted to bring down the Syrian government in order to reshape the regional balance of power and weaken what is often called the “axis of resistance.”

**Events in Gaza and Their Consequences**

On the morning of **7 October 2023**, the world awoke to a major operation carried out by the military wing of Hamas, led by Yahya al‑Sinwar. The operation demonstrated a high level of training, coordination, and planning, and it marked a new stage in the Palestinian–Israeli conflict.

On **8 October**, Hezbollah in Lebanon announced its support for Hamas in Gaza and declared that it stood with the Palestinian cause, even though it had not been informed in advance about the operation. Other groups within what is often referred to as the “axis of resistance” also declared their support for the Palestinian side.

Israel was initially stunned by the scale of the operation. Fighters from Hamas’s military wing captured a significant number of Israeli hostages during the attack, in addition to Israeli soldiers who were killed in the fighting.

In response, Israel launched a large‑scale military campaign in Gaza aimed at Hamas fighters and their infrastructure. The conflict was highly asymmetrical: Israel possessed far greater military capabilities. The airspace was dominated by Israeli aircraft, the sea was controlled by Israeli naval forces, and Israeli ground forces operated with armored vehicles and extensive military equipment. Israel also received considerable military support from the United States and European countries.

On the other side, Hamas fighters had far more limited resources, including rockets and light to medium weapons. Despite the disparity in military strength, Hamas fighters continued to resist while the population of Gaza endured the consequences of the conflict.

The war caused widespread destruction across Gaza. Homes, schools, and hospitals were damaged or destroyed, and the humanitarian situation deteriorated sharply. The events generated significant international debate and criticism. Demonstrations took place in many cities around the world, including in Western countries and on university campuses, where protesters condemned the violence and called for an end to the war.

Diplomatic tensions also increased. Some countries reduced or cut diplomatic relations with Israel. South Africa filed a case against Israel before the **International Court of Justice**, accusing it of committing violations of international law in Gaza. The court issued provisional measures calling for steps to prevent acts that could harm civilians.

For its part, Israel framed the war as an existential struggle and continued targeting Hamas’s leadership. Several senior Hamas figures were killed during the conflict, including political leader **Ismail Haniyeh**, who was assassinated in Iran during the period surrounding the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as well as Hamas’s military leader **Yahya al‑Sinwar**, who was later killed in Gaza.