One of the main challenges for Israel in 2024 was the multi-front war it was fighting.
Hamas launched the October 7 massacre in 2023, but the multi-front war became the major challenge in 2024. In November and December 2023, Israel initially focused on fighting Hamas, the most intense months of fighting in Gaza.
After Hamas launched its attack, Hezbollah joined in, launching thousands of rockets at Israel. By this past August, the terrorist group had launched around 7,500 rockets and 200 drone attacks.
The Houthis began attacking next, launching missiles and drones at Israel and then at international ships in the Red Sea. Next came the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq that began targeting Israel with drones. By the end of the year, around 200 missiles and 170 drones had been launched by the Houthis.
Iran also attacked Israel twice, once in April with hundreds of drones and missiles and again in October with 180 ballistic missiles, totaling an estimated 500 projectiles overall.
Israel struggled to contain this multi-front war; commercial airlines canceled flight plans. Israel was, at first, cautious in its response to Iran, striking only a limited number of targets in April. It also waited to respond to the Houthis until one of their missiles killed one person in Tel Aviv in July.
Israel retaliated then and also took time to begin assassinating key leaders. Ismail Haniyeh, the top leader of Hamas’s political bureau, was killed in Tehran, and Israel next ramped up the war on Hezbollah in September.
Israel waited a long time to do this. Once the IDF launched Operation Northern Arrows, Hezbollah launched around 3,000 rockets at Israel over several weeks of fighting
Essence of the war
ISRAEL’S October strikes in Iran were more extensive than the first round. It also expanded attacks on the Houthis in four overall strikes in 2024, but the group has not been deterred. Israel launched some large-scale raids in the West Bank to prevent Palestinian terror groups from increasing their threats there. The military also carried out strikes in Syria against Iranian targets, along with the remains of Syria’s military assets, after December 8.
This is precisely the essence of the multi-front war: it was waged in stages and aimed at breaking down one enemy at a time. Israel didn’t feel it could fight on seven fronts at the same time, so it chose its battles carefully, using special forces and other operations when necessary, and worked closely with US Central Command.
Iraqi militias, for instance, targeted US forces hundreds of times, killing three Americans in January. So, this was a multi-front war with Israel on one side and its enemies on the other, but Jerusalem had allies and partners – like when the US and other countries helped stave off the Iranian attacks in April and October.
The fall of the Assad regime in Syria may reduce one of the fronts, as it seems that Iran can no longer entrench in Syria. However, the Hezbollah front remains a problem. The first stage of the ceasefire, a 60-day break in fighting that began on November 27, will terminate in late January. Israel will need to see if it can extend this ceasefire.
Hezbollah suffered blows, but it still has an arsenal, and the Houthis remain undeterred. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad cells in the northern West Bank remain a threat, fueled by weapons smuggling, but the Palestinian Authority has been cracking down on them. The situation there remains to be seen.
This incoming year will likely see a continuing multi-front war, but one that has changed dramatically from how it looked in 2024. Last year, the Iranian-backed groups felt triumphant; now Israel has the upper hand, which is significant because these groups now are more divided than they were a year ago.
Israel will need to take advantage of this incongruity to deal a blow to Hamas and end the war. If it doesn’t end the war in Gaza, the other fronts may percolate. That said, recent moves by the Iraqi militias in which they appear to indicate they will stop targeting Israel – for now – are promising developments.