Nearly a year into its intense conflict with Hamas in Gaza, Israel is now embroiled in a complex web of multiple wars in the Middle East.

Growing tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon. A potential full-scale confrontation with Iran. Attacks from Yemen’s Houthis. And recently, an alarming uptick in violence in the West Bank.

Here’s a closer look at each situation.

Gaza Conflict Approaches One Year Mark

Israel initiated military action in Gaza after Hamas launched an attack on Israeli communities along its southern border on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 individuals and the abduction of 251. The Hamas-controlled health ministry reports that over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then. The region remains in a humanitarian crisis.

As part of a truce agreement in November, some Israeli hostages were freed in a prisoner swap with Hamas, but others have been killed while captive. Efforts to broker a fresh ceasefire and negotiate the release of the remaining 101 hostages, many of whom are believed to be deceased, have so far been unsuccessful.

In the absence of an agreement, Israel continues its military operations in Gaza, focusing on dismantling Hamas and rescuing its hostages. On Tuesday, Hamas reported that at least 40 individuals were killed by Israeli missiles targeting a designated humanitarian zone in Khan Younis.

Israel’s military rejected these casualty claims, asserting that they targeted Hamas leaders operating from a command center in that area. They stated that some individuals killed were involved in the October 7 attacks and had been engaged in ongoing “terror activities” against Israel.

On Wednesday, UNRWA (the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees) reported that six of its staff members died when an Israeli airstrike struck a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Reports indicated that the death toll could be as high as 34. The Israeli military described this as a “targeted strike against terrorists” allegedly plotting attacks from the school, emphasizing they tried to minimize civilian casualties.

UNRWA remarked that this incident has resulted in the highest number of staff fatalities in a single event since the conflict’s onset. They stated, “No one is safe in Gaza.” Recently, the U.N. dismissed nine UNRWA employees after Israel claimed that they were involved with Hamas regarding the October 7 attacks. An investigation completed in August reviewed allegations against 19 UNRWA workers, concluding that they “may have been involved” without specifying details.

Ongoing Hostilities with Hezbollah

Since October 7, Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned militant group based in Lebanon, have engaged in frequent reciprocal strikes. Israel has also executed targeted killings of high-ranking Hezbollah figures in Lebanon.

These hostilities are not novel; exchanges of fire along the Israel-Hezbollah border have been ongoing since the 1980s, and they fought a significant war in 2006. Hezbollah claims it has intensified its operations against Israel to support Hamas in Gaza, but experts suggest these actions are also part of a larger regional strategy to oppose Israel.

Lina Khatib, a Middle East analyst at London’s Chatham House, noted that Hezbollah’s involvement may be more about its survival rather than solely supporting Palestinians or Hamas. She pointed out, “Hezbollah could have escalated its involvement in October but chose not to because it did not face an imminent threat. They will not risk their existence for Palestine.”

Tensions with Iran at a Breaking Point

For many years, Israel and Iran have been engaged in a covert conflict, especially since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran made opposition to Israel, once a formal ally, a cornerstone of its political ideology.

Iran has consistently supported Hamas and Hezbollah with arms and financial aid to exert pressure on Israel.

The situation escalated in April when an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, resulted in the deaths of seven commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two generals. Iran retaliated by launching a series of drones and missiles at Israel, but most of these were shot down.

In late July, the tensions surged again after Israel accused Hezbollah of being responsible for a rocket attack that killed children in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Following this, Israel assassinated Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, while he was in Iran attending the new president’s inauguration. Although Tehran has vowed to respond severely, it has yet to take action.

Recent Increase in Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea

Since November, Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are linked to Iran, have launched numerous missile and drone strikes against vessels in the Red Sea, a crucial trade passage.

Although the Houthis have sporadically attacked ships in this area for years, the frequency of these attacks has surged since the onset of the war between Israel and Hamas. This escalation has led to an increasing number of U.S.-led military actions targeting Houthi positions, including radars, missile launch sites, and logistical centers.

In July, Israel conducted airstrikes on the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah in Yemen after a drone from the group struck Tel Aviv, resulting in one death and multiple injuries.

The Houthis assert that their targets are vessels associated with Israel, the United States, or the United Kingdom, citing Israel’s actions against Hamas and the support provided by the U.S. and U.K. However, many of the attacked ships have little or no ties to the conflict, including some headed for Iran. Analysts suggest these attacks are part of the rebels’ broader ideological battle, aligning themselves with Iran against the U.S. and Israel while enhancing their domestic standing.

Israeli Actions in the West Bank

Violence and tension in the West Bank, traditionally a hotspot, have intensified since the beginning of the Gaza conflict.

In recent weeks, as Israeli forces have conducted large-scale operations in the region, concerns have risen that the Gaza war might gradually extend into the area captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast war, which Palestinians and the international community regard as integral to their future state.

Israeli authorities initiated these raids to dismantle what they describe as terrorist cells in northern West Bank areas. According to the Palestinian health ministry, these ongoing operations have resulted in the deaths of at least 30 Palestinians.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Israeli military to reconsider its operations in the occupied West Bank after an American protester opposing settlement expansions was shot dead. Blinken labeled the incident, where Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was killed, as “unprovoked and unjustified.” Separately, three Israelis were shot and killed on Sunday by a Jordanian gunman at the border junction between Jordan and the West Bank.

On a broader level, Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza has shifted focus away from what the International Crisis Group describes as “systemic and increasing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.”

In the West Bank.

A recent report from the International Crisis Group (ICG) highlights that acts of violence by settlers against Palestinians have reached unprecedented levels. The report describes these settlers as “Israelis residing in the occupied West Bank” who “intimidate, injure, and at times kill Palestinians, as well as vandalize their properties,” with some incidents occurring “in collaboration with the military.”

According to data provided to the ICG by the United Nations, from October 7 to August 12, there were 1,264 reported attacks by settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank, resulting in 21 deaths and 643 injuries among Palestinians.

During this same timeframe, over 1,300 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes, the ICG stated. In contrast, five Israeli settlers have lost their lives in the West Bank during a similar period, based on U.N. data.

As of mid-August 2024, a total of 273 Palestinians have been killed in incidents related to the ongoing conflict in the West Bank, with 17 Israeli casualties reported.