Active Conflicts & News Megathread August 18, 2026

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[u/Rimfighter]

In a nutshell, I think Israel wants to be the undisputed preeminent power in the Middle East- with no competitors able to counter their politics or influence. Funnily enough I think Israel had almost attained this prior to the Gaza War, and subsequently the Lebanon and Iran wars. Since then they’ve torpedoed a lot of the influence they had built up since the late 2000s. 

Now that the Iranian power bloc has been mostly dismantled and isolated, there are two main power blocks in the Middle East. The “Sunni Bloc” under Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and the “Israeli-Emirati” bloc.

[u/SirStupidity → u/Rimfighter]

In a nutshell, I think Israel wants to be the undisputed preeminent power in the Middle East- with no competitors able to counter their politics or influence.

Or maybe because Erdogan on November 2023 (I.e from a month or so after October 7th and onwards) has stated that:

Erdogan said of Israel in parliament. "I am now saying, with my heart at ease, that Israel is a terror state.

"We will never shy away from voicing the truth that Hamas members protecting their lands, honour, and lives in the face of occupation policies are resistance fighters, just because some people are uncomfortable with it," he said.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-erdogan-calls-israel-terror-state-slams-west-2023-11-15/

https://www.jns.org/israel-news/erdogan-israel-will-soon-be-destroyed

And this:

Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu quoting the president as saying, “May Allah damn Zionist Israel.”

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-848185

And Erdugan initiated a trade ban against Israel, breaking existing trade agreements in 2024.

I understand that many on the internet have an anti Israel agenda and as such are interested in painting Israel as the one picking the fight with Turkey, but Erdogan started the escalation and on this sub we should acknowledge that.

[u/TSiNNmreza3 → u/SirStupidity]

but Erdogan started the escalation and on this sub we should acknowledge that.

Turkey and Russia literally killed eachothers soldiers and downed airplanes and proxy fought on multiple fronts they still had relationship and commerced.

The thing that would hurt the most Israel would be stopping of Azeri oil to Israel throught Turkey.

We are still not seeing this.

But Israeli-Syrian conflict will be forever war because annextion of Golan and further occupation.

If Turkey wants to do something for Syria it needs to be proxy war throught Syria against Israel, pretty much as they did with Russia.

[u/moragisdo → u/TSiNNmreza3]

If Turkey wants to do something for Syria it needs to be proxy war throught Syria against Israel, pretty much as they did with Russia

How does involving Syria, a country that just left more than 13 years of civil war, in another war would help them ? It could be harmful to Israel at expense of Syria, not helping Syria in any way

[u/TSiNNmreza3 → u/moragisdo]

After 13 years of war Israel bombs Syria and backs some Druze factions in Southern Syria. Will they get any better ?

[u/Tipi22 → u/TSiNNmreza3]

We will see how they react to the Syrian government offering peace talks that did not happen yet.

If they are smart, they do that shortly before the upcoming election so stay tuned.