Has Israel changed the region's map?

Benjamin Netanyahu keeps saying, "We have succeeded in changing the face of the region." So, has the change happened, and what is next?

The reality says that the region's equations and the structure of its alliances have changed since the beginning of Israel's aggression on Gaza until today, and the regional map remains open to further changes. The matter was not solely in the hands of Israel, as some significant developments would not have happened without the intervention of America under Biden or Trump. One of the main factors of the change is the antagonism created by Iran against itself and its proxies as it acted under a Persian project expanding at the expense of the region's identity and its political and religious structure. 

Therefore, the project to change the face of the region, even though part has been by the US, has received support and joy from wide official and popular Arab circles because it put an end to Iran’s ambitions and its tools in the region.

The project to change the face of the region, especially from the Palestinian side, aims for the end result desired by Israel: The displacement in Gaza, the division of Gaza into buffer zones, and perhaps the reoccupation of part of it for settlement, transforming the coastal enclave into a demilitarised zone. This has partially occurred geographically, but the rest of Israel's objective has not been completed.

The other part of the change in the region's face was in Lebanon, was to strike Hizbollah, and removing its influence in the south and also in the presidency and government. This has happened, but the next step is the demarcation of borders between Lebanon and Israel and ensuring Hizbollah's complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The demarcation of borders is a technical definition of a peace agreement that might happen soon.

Syria, the most important geography for Iran and its project, has turned into an area of hostility for Tehran. Today, the main enemies of the new regime are Iran, the remnants of Hizbollah, and the remnants of the old regime. However, Iran is forced to leave Syria and Lebanon and try to compensate for its losses in other areas.

In the region, the Houthis, who cannot be eradicated because they are a social force in Yemen with rugged geography, remain a challenge. However, the key to weakening them is military strikes on their weapon stockpiles, and more importantly, turning the Houthis into a burden on Iran. At that point, the mountains of Yemen won’t help them, and they will seek an agreement, just as Hizbollah did when it signed an agreement with Israel, which removed the group from the south when Iran abandoned it.

Israel, which is expanding in southern Syria, occupying new land, and creating a new military reality, still hopes to draw the Druze to its side. It understands that the new Syrian regime is not thinking about confronting it and is not opposed to the idea of signing an agreement with Israel, though this is premature before Syria is fully stable. However, Israel is exploiting the state of confusion the new regime in Syria is experiencing to create a geography under Israeli control, effectively making the Golan Heights not a matter of negotiation but rather land that was occupied in recent months.

As for what is happening in Gaza now, it is Hamas's attempt to remain in power in Gaza after the war ends. However, from Israel's perspective, it is part of completing the Gaza map they dream of and searching for opportunities for displacement. Since the beginning of the aggression, Gaza has lost casualties amounting to more than 5 per cent of its population, and about 150,000 people have left. But Israel still dreams of a larger exodus.

The political and even geographic map of the region has changed, and its effects will be seen politically in time. Netanyahu is not acting out of madness; he is executing plans that Israelis are rallying around to achieve, with the support of the US administration.