In a year marked by escalating conflict and widening regional involvement, Israel has conducted military operations across at least six countries and international waters, while also intensifying efforts to recover the remains of its last unreturned hostage from Gaza. The scope and intensity of these operations have drawn global attention, raising questions about the future of ceasefire negotiations and the broader stability of the Middle East.
On December 29, 2025, Israeli forces detained a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) suspected of involvement in the abduction and handling of Staff Sgt. Maj. Ran Gvili’s remains. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the suspect was apprehended during a covert operation in central Gaza City near Palestine Square—an area that Israeli intelligence has linked to Gvili’s case. While the Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the report, Army Radio confirmed the operation’s existence. This move is seen as part of a broader pressure campaign targeting both Hamas and PIJ, as Israeli officials seek to break a deadlock in ongoing ceasefire discussions.
Israeli security assessments maintain that both Hamas and PIJ possess the information needed to locate Gvili’s remains. However, officials argue that these groups lack the motivation to act. As a security source told Maariv earlier this month, “Hamas and the PIJ know where Gvili’s remains are located, and have the ability to find them. The problem is they are not motivated to do so. We believe they can put in more effort.”
Efforts to recover Gvili’s body have included searches in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, conducted by Hamas in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross. These efforts, however, were temporarily suspended due to severe weather brought on by Storm Byron. The delay has only deepened the impasse in ceasefire negotiations, with Israeli officials insisting that the return of Gvili’s remains is a non-negotiable precondition for any further progress.
“We are applying very strong and clear pressure. Until Gvili’s remains are returned, there will be no progress. Everyone knows we are in an interim situation,” a security source told Maariv. The same official emphasized that Hamas would receive no material benefits tied to Gaza’s rehabilitation—including building materials, infrastructure projects, or the reopening of border crossings—until the remains are returned. “This stage also has disadvantages for Hamas, as they will not receive anything that will allow the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip. There will be no concrete, no concrete mixers, no discussion of a new Yellow Line, no opening of the Rafah border crossing—and more!”
Gvili, who was killed during the October 7, 2025 assault, has become a symbol of the unresolved hostilities and the personal cost of the ongoing conflict. The failure to secure his return has, according to Israeli officials, directly contributed to the current deadlock in ceasefire talks—a stalemate with immediate humanitarian and geopolitical consequences.
While these high-stakes negotiations continue, Israel’s military footprint has expanded dramatically in 2025. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project, Israel has attacked more countries this year than any other nation, conducting at least 10,631 attacks from January 1 to December 5. These operations have spanned Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, and Yemen, as well as international waters off Tunisia, Malta, and Greece, where aid flotillas bound for Gaza were targeted.
The deadliest theater remains Gaza and the occupied West Bank. ACLED data shows that Israel launched 8,332 attacks in these territories in 2025—an average of 25 per day—resulting in over 25,000 deaths and at least 62,000 injuries. The violence persisted despite multiple ceasefires, with Israel reportedly violating a ceasefire that began on October 10 hundreds of times, killing at least 400 Palestinians and injuring 1,100. Earlier ceasefires in the year were also broken, with attacks continuing even against those seeking food aid.
Satellite imagery and humanitarian reports paint a grim picture of Gaza, reduced to rubble and home to some two million displaced people. The West Bank has also seen a surge in violence, with Israeli military operations targeting areas such as Jenin, Tulkarem, and the Nur Shams refugee camps. Notably, ACLED’s figures do not include the record 1,680 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, as documented by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Israel’s operations have extended far beyond its immediate neighbors. In Lebanon, more than 1,653 attacks were recorded in 2025, concentrated mainly in the south but also reaching the Bekaa Valley and the outskirts of Beirut. Despite a formal ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israeli strikes have continued at a steady pace, and the Israeli army maintains a presence in several strategic locations in southern Lebanon.
The conflict with Iran reached a dramatic peak on June 13, when Israel launched a barrage of strikes involving 200 jets, targeting nuclear and military sites across 28 of Iran’s 31 provinces—including the main nuclear facility in Natanz. The United States joined the campaign on June 22, attacking additional nuclear facilities. Iran retaliated with hundreds of ballistic missiles aimed at Israeli cities, marking one of the most significant escalations between the two countries in recent memory.
Syria, too, has been the target of over 200 Israeli attacks in 2025, with a major escalation on July 16 when Israeli airstrikes hit the Syrian Ministry of Defence headquarters and areas near the presidential palace in Damascus. Israel has justified these strikes as efforts to prevent weapons from reaching “extremists,” a term that has shifted over time to include various actors, most recently Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
In Yemen, Israel launched at least 48 attacks against Houthi targets, including an August 28 air raid in Sanaa that killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and several senior officials. Strikes also targeted key infrastructure such as Sanaa international airport and Hodeidah port, as the conflict with the Houthis—who have launched their own attacks in solidarity with Gaza—continued to simmer.
The reach of Israeli operations has even extended to international waters. In separate incidents near Malta, Tunisia, and Greece, Israeli forces targeted aid flotillas attempting to break the blockade of Gaza. On May 2, the Conscience, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was struck by drones off Malta, injuring four people. Additional attacks were reported in Tunisian and Greek waters in September, underscoring the global dimensions of the conflict.
One of the most high-profile incidents outside the immediate region occurred on September 9, when Israel struck the West Bay Lagoon area of Doha, Qatar, during a meeting of Hamas leadership. The attack killed six people, including the son of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, but failed to eliminate top Hamas officials. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order providing Qatar with a security guarantee in the event of future external attacks.
This year’s events have left the region—and the world—watching closely as Israel’s military operations continue to reshape the geopolitical landscape. With ceasefire negotiations stalled and humanitarian crises deepening, the prospects for peace remain uncertain, and the consequences of these actions are likely to reverberate for years to come.