ANALYSIS: Middle East Could Explode With State-Sponsored Jihad Against Israel

Should Israel falter in its response against Hamas, the Middle East could explode into a renewed era of rampant Islamism and violent extremism.

A missile explodes in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike on Oct. 8, 2023. Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

More than 1,000 are dead in Israel, including more than a dozen U.S. citizens, following a massive campaign of brutal violence by the Islamist terror group Hamas.

Officials from across Israel have condemned Hamas’s atrocities as a 9/11 moment. There’s little reason to doubt that the new war between Israel and Hamas will carry all of the geopolitical consequences that such a comparison merits.