A look ahead: Seismic changes brought to the Middle East
The year's tragic backdrop was Israel's non-stop airstrikes on Hamas in Gaza; the misery of trapped Palestinians; and the agony of Israeli hostages and their families.
- Touring a wasteland in Gaza
- Israeli forces rescue 4 hostages held in Gaza ("Sunday Morning")
- Children of Gaza ("Sunday Morning")
- Campus unrest: Will protests make a difference? ("Sunday Morning")
- One year after October 7 attacks, anger and anguish persist ("Sunday Morning")
But the game-changer was a much bigger offensive: Israel took on its arch-enemy, Iran.
In September, in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: If you strike us, we will strike you."
Armed with billions of dollars of American weapons, Israel attacked Iran's puppet militia, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, with ground forces, and from the air.
Israel also assassinated Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and booby-trapped hundreds of pagers that left Hezbollah fighters dismembered and demoralized.
- Fallout of Israel's reported attack using Hezbollah pagers ("Sunday Morning")
- Terror expert: Leadership of Hezbollah has been "decapitated" ("Sunday Morning")
Ayatollah Khamenei put on a brave face, telling supporters earlier this month, "With the divine power of God … our resistance will now expand."
But the regime has been humiliated. Even the hundreds of cruise missiles Iran fired at Israel were mostly intercepted, and did little damage.
Tehran lost in Syria, too, when its ally, the dictator Bashar al-Assad, was toppled by Islamist fighters who swept into the main cities and declared victory.
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flees, war monitor says, as his government collapses and insurgents enter Damascus
- Biden calls Assad's fall "moment of historic opportunity"
- What to know as Syrian rebels take charge after forcing Bashar al-Assad from power
- Analysis of the Bashar Assad regime collapse in Syria ("Face the Nation")
- What's next for Syria after fall of Assad regime?
- Syrians celebrate end of the Assad family's half-century rule after president flees to Moscow
- Syrians search for loved ones who vanished under Assad regime ("60 Minutes")
- Syrian Americans in Michigan celebrate fall of Assad regime
2024 has been a year of seismic changes in the Middle East, and only one thing is certain: The region will never be the same again.
Add to the mix Donald Trump, whose foreign policy will be (at the very least) disruptive, and 2025 could offer either a fragile peace … or disaster.
Story produced by Mark Hudspeth. Editor: Chad Cardin.
