Israel grows buffer zones along its borders as part of post-Oct. 7 military doctrine

‘Redrawn map’

Israel’s shape-shifting isn’t new. Since its founding, borders have expanded and contracted as it has fought numerous wars with its neighbors, absorbing and then withdrawing from their territory.

While Katz and others tout the security benefits of expanding beyond Israel’s borders, critics say that these moves risk antagonizing Israel’s neighbors, exhausting its troops and triggering a wider conflict. Some critics of the current Israeli approach warn that it will reenergize groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, not reduce their power. 

“The main risk to Israel is that … you’re just going to see counterinsurgency from Hamas, you’re going to see that from Hezbollah,” Mairav Zonszein, an Israel analyst at the International Crisis Group, told NBC News.

But this direction of travel has been clear since Oct. 7, after which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he intended to transform the region.

“The decisions we’ve made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East,” he wrote in an X post in February. “Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map.”

On July 7, sitting alongside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office after Israel and the U.S. launched punishing strikes on Iranian nuclear and military installations and targeted senior scientists and officials, Netanyahu underlined the aim of continuing to fundamentally change the region.

“This is a historic victory,” he said. “This has already changed the face of the Middle East, but it’s not over.”