One year after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, Israel is reshaping the Middle East by force, taking the fight to Iran and its proxies with the help of the United States — despite pleas from the Biden administration for diplomacy.

While President Biden is warning Israel against a major attack on Iran in retaliation for a missile barrage last week, Israel’s ambassador to the United States is warning “a long and arduous path” lies ahead.

“Following the carnage of Oct. 7, all our enemies in the region and globally smelled the blood, sensed weakness and vulnerability and rose to hit us,” said Michael Herzog, Israel’s envoy in Washington, during a memorial ceremony Monday at the Israeli Embassy.

“One year on, the story of this war is also of Israel rising to its feet, turning the tide, restoring its deterrence and dismantling the ring of fire that Iran has built around us.”

The Israeli ambassador’s message was delivered in front of national security adviser Jake Sullivan, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, and White House coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk — officials who were blindsided last month when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected a cease-fire proposal with Hezbollah the White House had coordinated with Jerusalem behind closed doors.

Since then, Israel has forged ahead with its plans to dismantle Hezbollah, weaken Iran and suppress Hamas in the Gaza Strip — largely without consulting the United States beforehand, but relying heavily on military and political support from Washington.

“It must be said, we wouldn’t be where we are today were it not for the steadfast support of our close friend and ally the United States of America,” Herzog told the assembled diplomats, along with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle.

The episode demonstrates how the Israeli government, under Netanyahu, is reframing its war aims toward a vision of long-lasting regional dominance.

“This is our war of existence — 'the war of redemption.' This is how I would like the war to be called officially,” Netanyahu said during a Cabinet meeting on Monday.

“We are changing the security reality in our region, for our children and for our future, in order to ensure that what happened on Oct. 7 does not recur. Never again.”

While........

© The Hill