Author: Aniello Inverso – 23/06/2025
CONNECTED FRONTS. GAZA, ISRAEL AND IRAN IN THE NEW GEOGRAPHY OF CONFLICT
Aniello Inverso – Vision & Global Trends – (Società Italiana di Geopolitica – Progetto)
ABSTRACT
This paper analyzes the Israeli–Palestinian conflict within a broader regional and geopolitical context, focusing on its connection to the growing confrontation between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran. After the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the Gaza Strip is no longer seen as an isolated crisis, but as a central point in a wider hybrid conflict. The analysis starts from the historical, symbolic, and institutional roots of the Palestinian question and then examines Iran’s role as a revisionist actor and leader of the so-called “Axis of Resistance.” The escalation in 2024–2025 marked a shift from proxy war to direct military confrontation, including mutual attacks on nuclear and military targets. In this situation, the United States did not act as a neutral mediator but became a direct actor, supporting Israel with military, technological, and operational means. The final part of the paper outlines three possible future scenarios: (1) the dismantling of Hamas and the collapse of Gaza’s civil and urban systems; (2) the destabilization of Iran’s regime due to internal protests and external pressure; (3) the possible expansion of the conflict through the reactivation of transnational jihadist networks reacting to the regional crisis. These scenarios are not abstract or theoretical, but possible outcomes of the current situation. They reflect deeper changes in the nature of war and in the political management of conflict in today’s international system.
KEYWORDS: Israeli–Palestinian conflict; Near-Middle East geopolitics; Geography of conflicts
Introduction
This research offers a structured reflection on the historical, institutional, and geopolitical evolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the aim of extending the analysis to the regional and systemic dimensions that today redefine its nature and scope, also in light of the growing interconnection with the confrontation between Israel and Iran, which is becoming increasingly direct, symmetrical, and cross-border. The conflict is no longer only the legacy of a colonial or inter-state fracture, but represents a critical threshold for the entire Middle Eastern order and for global balances. In a context marked by the rise of revisionist actors, the crisis of multilateral institutions, and the growing hybridization between conventional and asymmetric warfare, the Israeli-Palestinian issue, along with its extension into the rivalry with Iran, takes on a paradigmatic value in the contemporary transformation of international relations. The analysis begins with a reconstruction….
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Aniello Inverso – Master’s degree in ‘Investigation, Crime and International Security’, University of International Studies of Rome. Bachelor’s degree in ‘Political Sciences and International Relations’, University of Naples ‘Federico II’. Analyst at Vision & Global Trends International Institute for Global Analyses, within the project Società Italiana di Geopolitica.