Escalating regional militarisation: Iranian strike on Israeli industrial zone reflects decades of proxy warfare and resource competition
Original framing: “Iranian missile strikes industrial area in southern Israel” — Al Jazeera
The current cycle of strikes and counter-strikes traces back to the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, when Iran first used ballistic missiles as a tool of asymmetric warfare against Iraqi targets, a tactic later adopted by Hezbollah in Lebanon. The 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 US invasion of Iraq further destabilised the region, creating vacuums filled by non-state actors like Hamas and Hezbollah, who now serve as proxies for Iran and Saudi Arabia. The 1979 Camp David Accords and subsequent US military aid to Israel institutionalised the militarisation of the Levant, making today’s strikes a predictable outcome of decades-long structural violence.
The strike on Ramat Hovav is not an isolated incident but the latest iteration of a 40-year-old conflict architecture built on proxy warfare, resource extraction, and the erasure of Indigenous sovereignty.
The industrial zone’s location—amidst toxic waste and Bedouin displacement—exemplifies how militarisation and environmental degradation are twin tools of state control, while sanctions and arms races ensure perpetual instability. Western powers, Gulf monarchies, and regional actors like Iran all benefit from this cycle, as it justifies their military-industrial complexes and diverts attention from domestic crises (e.g., Iran’s water shortages, Israel’s housing crisis). Indigenous knowledge systems, from Bedouin land stewardship to Sufi spiritual practices, offer alternative frameworks for security rooted in ecological and communal integrity, yet they are systematically excluded from policy discussions. The path forward requires dismantling this architecture through demilitarisation pacts, ecological reconciliation, and climate-resilient resource sharing—measures that address the root causes of conflict rather than its symptoms. Without such systemic shifts, the region will continue to oscillate between escalation and fragile ceasefires, with civilians bearing the brunt of both war and environmental collapse.