A year on from the tragic and fateful events of October 7, and in the wake of the most recent extension of the ensuing conflict to the northern front, in Lebanon, Israel seems to have turned the tables on its enemies: Hamas’ forces have been either wiped out or rendered combat-ineffective, Hezbollah’s command-and-control structure has been decapitated, and Iran’s ballistic-missile barrage seems not to have caused significant damage.

So is Israel winning? Is that the right way to evaluate the current balance of forces in the region? And what does winning, in this troubled and conflict-ridden region, even mean?

With me to discuss all this and more is Dr. Ahron Bregman, senior teaching fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London, and a previous guest on this podcast.