Malta's role in the North African convoy war

What was Malta's long-term impact on the North African campaign?

It was critical to interdicting Axis supplies, and losing it would likely have forced the Allies to mount a major recapture operation.

Malta-based intelligence, ships, and aircraft accounted for a very large share of the interdiction that disrupted supplies to North Africa. The island's location made it an operational hinge in the convoy war. Losing it would affect far more than the fate of an isolated garrison. An Axis-held Malta would have been important enough to demand a major Allied recapture operation.