Since the Palestinian Hamas movement’s outrageous attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Tel Aviv has found itself in a multifront war that it cannot win militarily. Israel’s military superiority has lost the ability to deliver a strategic punch against a network of networks administered by Iran. This highlights how in the decade or so following the Arab Spring protests, networked non-state actors have become the key movers and shakers in the region—outperforming state hierarchies on matters of resilience.

Israel is now finding itself encircled by the most potent network in the region: the ‘Axis of Resistance’. The Iran-led umbrella entity gathers Iraqi Shiite armed groups, Lebanese Hezbollah, Palestinian Hamas and...