The players in the Middle East are perhaps on the edge of a wider war. This video from the excellent YouTube channel, Caspian Report, covers the situation and looks at the positions, power and potential strategies of the states (Israel, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, the U.S. ) and non-governmental organizations (Hamas and Hezbollah) currently involved.
Please note that this is a geopolitical analysis. This means that it is concerned with the complex goals and interests of state and non-state players in a territorial context. I’ve received some pushback when posting these analyses because they do not cover the humanitarian perspectives, ideological arguments or draw moral or ideological conclusions about a situation. Geopolitical analysis concerns the interactions of strategic goals as they are perceived by the actors in a given context — in this case, how and why the current conflict in Gaza and on Israel’s northern borders can explode into a wider war.
Personally, I was surprised to learn about the capabilities of Hezbollah and found the discussion of whether or not Iran will keep them on a short leash to be quite illuminating.
(Note: there is an embedded sponsorship commercial for the excellent Ground News. It can be easily skipped, beginning at approximately 1:30 and ending at 3:30)