Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and now Iran.

Israel maintains no less than five war fronts open at the same time, with an extremely high military, economic and social cost.

Since Hamas attacked southern Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023, and the response of the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu resulted in A war in the Palestinian territory that continues to this day, the Israeli army has been stretching its resources with new conflicts in the region.

First, it responded to attacks launched by the Lebanese militia Hezbollah against northern Israel in retaliation for the attacks in Gaza. The Israeli response quickly escalated into open warfare that decapitated and weakened the Islamist group.

It also responded to attacks carried out by the Houthis in Yemen since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have bombed ports, cities, and facilities in the territory of this Shiite militia, which controls a third of the country.

With the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, Israel also saw an opportunity to seize part of Syrian territory to expand its control of the Golan Heights. It also took advantage of the opportunity to undermine Syrian military infrastructure by bombing army facilities. Since then, it has carried out periodic attacks on areas in the south of the country where Hamas-affiliated militias operate.

But for Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Syrian militias are offshoots of what it considers its true threat, the real enemy to be defeated: Iran.

After years of skirmishes, clandestine operations, and targeted assassinations that escalated to mutual bombing for the first time last year, the two have been facing each other since June 13 in an open conflict with an uncertain outcome.

But how does Israel manage to keep so many fronts open? And how long can it continue with this intense military pressure?

“A formidable armed force”

“Well, I wouldn’t say indefinitely, but certainly for a long time,” responds Frank Ledwidge,Former British intelligence officer and professor of law and strategy at the University of Portsmouth.

Israel has “formidable armed forces,” Ledwidge explains to BBC Mundo. “And, combining the political, military, and economic aspects, Israel is a very resilient country. It has proven this many times in the past. The question now is: is that the case with Iran?” Furthermore, despite the enormous economic cost of this war effort, the Netanyahu government has enormous political and social support for its campaign against Iran. Eighty-three percent of Jewish Israelis support the bombing of Iran, a figure that shows that Iran’s nuclear program and the Tehran government, which many in Israel consider an existential threat, act as a social unifier. “We don’t know what might happen if there were many more casualties or if there were a much larger Iranian attack. But, for the moment, there is enormous political and social support for the government,” Avraham Diskin, emeritus professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the same university that conducted the latest opinion poll on the campaign against Iran, told BBC Mundo.

Military Personnel and Weapons

Israel has one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world and, arguably, the best equipped and trained in the Middle East.

In 2024, Israel’s military budget soared by 65% ??to $46.5 billion, the largest increase since the 1967 war. 8.8% of the country’s GDP was allocated to the military effort, the second largest in the world behind Ukraine, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Its Air Force is the most powerful in the region, with long-range F-15s, F-35s (high-tech “stealth” aircraft that can evade radar), and fast attack helicopters.

This has allowed it to greatly weaken Iranian air defenses and bomb military, nuclear, and strategic sites in Iran.

In addition, Israel has a sophisticated multi-layered defense system consisting of the Iron Dome missile shield, which allows it to intercept short-range missiles, such as those launched from Gaza and Lebanon; the David's Sling, to counter medium-range missiles; and the Arrow anti-ballistic missile program, which allows it to defend against projectiles coming from more distant locations, such as Iran or Yemen. The system is highly effective, as its use over the years has proven. The Iron Dome, for example, is more than 90% effective, according to Israel. But in recent days, some Iranian missiles have managed to hit targets in Israel.evading defenses and causing the deaths of more than 20 people.

The system, the Israeli army itself recognizes, is not infallible, but it gives the country a significant advantage over its aggressors.

But for how long can such a deployment be maintained?

For Frank Ledwidge, from a military perspective, two factors could eventually hinder Israel's ability to sustain so many open fronts: military personnel and ammunition.

In this regard, the expert points out that a large part of the Israeli missile system depends on imports from the United States, either for components or for complete ammunition.

“But the problem is that the US military has been strained by its deliveries of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, and this (the one with Iran) is going to be a very resource-intensive war, even if Washington does not get involved,” says Ledwidge.

US logistics experts “They are beginning to become very concerned about the United States’ already diminished capacity to sustain a conflict against China, which is the challenge that sets the pace and is the absolute priority for the American defense industrial system,” according to the professor at the University of Portsmouth.

The wear and tear of military personnel could also be a handicap that holds Israel back.

“The same pace of operations that the Israelis are carrying out cannot be maintained indefinitely,” says the expert, who points out that the air and ground crews of the Israeli Air Force need the necessary rest.

The accumulated fatigue from other campaigns, he points out, “affects effectiveness and efficiency, causes errors and, ultimately, will cause losses.”

This may be the reason why we have seen that Israel has slowed the pace of operations over Iran, “without forgetting that there are also operations in Gaza and that they have to cover the air defense component of their operations, as well as have the capacity to cope with unforeseen events.”

Wear and tear of the reservists

The Israel Defense Forces has around 178,000 active-duty soldiers, in addition to approximately 460,000 reserve troops. Military service is mandatory in the country for men and women over the age of 18, with some exceptions, and they remain as reservists until the age of 51.

Since last October 7, Israel has been mobilizing hundreds of thousands of reservists. At the end of May, the government authorized the call-up of up to 450,000 reserve troops over the next three months, the largest number in Israel's history.

The continued mobilization "has harmed the economy and mental health, family relationships and careers of the reservists,while exemptions keep the ultra-Orthodox off the front lines,” says a report in The Times of Israel.

The government wants the ultra-Orthodox, who are exempt from mandatory military service if they dedicate themselves to religious studies, to be able to conscript like all other Israelis. With the wear and tear of nearly 20 months of continuous war, unrest has spread among many Israelis, who would like to see the war effort shared among all.

But Netanyahu needs the small ultra-Orthodox parties for the survival of his government, which is why the law that would require them to enlist has been delayed.

In fact, the government narrowly survived an opposition attempt last week to dissolve Parliament and bring down the executive branch, and was only saved by a last-minute negotiation with the ultra-Orthodox parties over the controversial law.

Social and political support

Despite the wear and tear on the reservists and society in general after so many months of war, Netanyahu “has no problems on the domestic political front at the moment, neither with voters nor with leaders,” says Avraham Diskin.

Several opposition political figures, such as former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, and former alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, leader of the Kajo Lavan (Blue and White) coalition, have shown their support for Netanyahu in his campaign against Iran in recent days.

“Everything else has been relegated to the background. It’s not that it’s less important, but people don’t talk about it anymore,” says the emeritus professor of political science.

If “some disaster” were to occur or the war were to drag on too long, “we don’t know, but for now, support is assured,” he explains.

Furthermore, criticism of Netanyahu’s government for the way it is conducting the war in Gaza and for how, according to critics, it has not prioritized the release of the hostages still held by Hamas, has been somewhat muted.

Something similar has happened with international diplomacy.

Despite harsh criticism from European countries, for example, of Israel’s actions in Gaza, which they disapprove of on humanitarian grounds (more than 50,000 people have died in the Palestinian territory), “attacks against Iran’s nuclear capabilities have not received significant criticism,” said Ksenia Svetlova, a researcher at the Middle East and World Programme, in a recent article. Chatham House North Africa.

The Costs of War

Protracted war also has an added cost: it is tremendously expensive.

Each of the Tamir missiles used by Iron Dome costs $50,000.The Stunners used by David's Slings cost $1 million each, while the Arrow-3s used to intercept ballistic missiles launched by Iran cost $3 million each.

A former financial advisor to the IDF chief of staff estimates that the war with Iran is costing Israel about $750 million a day, he revealed in an interview with the Israeli outlet Ynet News. And that's not even counting the damage caused to the country by Iranian bombing.

Furthermore, the cumulative spending on the Gaza war has reached about $67.5 billion, according to estimates by the Israeli newspaper Calcalist.

Can Israel sustain this level of spending?

For Avraham Diskin, the answer is yes. For now.

“Israel didn’t choose when it entered the war in Gaza, but it came at an ideal time as far as the economy is concerned, because Israel has a much higher per capita income than many European countries,” says the political scientist.

In the long term, adds Frank Ledwidge, the economy will, of course, suffer.

“But that’s a secondary concern right now. If you’re under what you perceive as an existential threat, then it really doesn’t matter how much time or money you’re putting in, as the alternative is elimination or death.”

Click here to read more stories from BBC News Mundo.

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