Middle East conflict: More than 20 countries for military alliance in the Red Sea

In view of the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal strip is becoming increasingly catastrophic. Due to the “globally unprecedented” situation, the United Nations warns that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will die from starvation. “I have never seen anything like this. The scale of acute food insecurity is unprecedented in terms of severity, speed of deterioration and complexity,” said World Food Program (WFP) spokesperson Shaza Moghraby.

A UN Security Council resolution to alleviate the humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip is still a long time coming. There has been disagreement over the wording of such a declaration for days. A vote had been postponed several times because of a threatened US veto.

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening

A new study by several U.N. agencies and other institutions on Thursday concluded that 577,000 people in the sealed-off coastal strip fall into the most severe category of hunger. In contrast, there are currently 129,000 people in the rest of the world combined who, according to the analysis, are at similar risk. The people at risk of “catastrophic” hunger are more than a quarter of the more than two million people in the area. Almost all residents are affected by hunger or displacement.

The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, which terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out in Israel on October 7th. Israel responded with massive air strikes and began a ground offensive in late October. In view of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal area, Israel has recently come under increasing international pressure. According to the Islamist Hamas, at least 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began.

More than 20 countries support the protection of the Red Sea

According to the US, more than 20 countries have so far agreed to join the military alliance to protect ships in the Red Sea in view of attacks by Houthi rebels. Since the announcement of “Operation Prosperity Guardian”, Australia and Greece have also announced their participation, said Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder at a press conference on Thursday (local time). He emphasized that the alliance is open to other countries. However, it is up to them to speak publicly about their participation.

The key point is that this is an international problem that requires an international response. “So we will continue to work with this coalition of the willing, and all countries will be able to contribute what they believe is possible,” the Defense Ministry spokesman added. In some cases this will include ships. In other cases it could be staffing or other types of support.

To better protect the important shipping route through the Red Sea, which leads to the Suez Canal, the USA officially launched the new alliance at the beginning of the week. The US military should work even better with the armed forces of other countries in the region.

The Houthi rebels, supported by Israel’s arch-enemy Iran, have been attacking Israel with drones and missiles since the outbreak of the Gaza war and attacking ships in the Red Sea to prevent them from passing through to Israel. Large shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, through which around ten percent of all world trade passes.

According to US information, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the Seychelles are also taking part in the alliance. Germany is considering participation. Spain says it only wants to take part in an EU or NATO mission.

After days of struggle in the UN Security Council for a resolution to alleviate the humanitarian need in the Gaza Strip, a vote was postponed again. Several countries would have to consult with their governments after fundamental changes were made in a compromise draft, it said on Thursday. The text, which is available to the German Press Agency, calls on Israel to “immediately allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access” to the Gaza Strip. The conditions must also be created for a sustainable cessation of violence.

Continued rocket fire from the Gaza Strip

Despite the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, which have been heavily criticized internationally because of the civilian casualties, Hamas is still firing rockets. On Thursday, dull explosions were heard in the metropolis of Tel Aviv. The armed wing of the Islamist Hamas organization, the Qassam Brigades, spoke in a statement of a “response to the Zionist massacres of civilians” in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli media, the ongoing shelling is also due to the large number of bombing sites in the Gaza Strip. According to estimates by the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Hamas’ rocket arsenal included around 20,000 projectiles. According to Israeli figures, around 12,500 rockets have been fired at the Jewish state since the war began.

Israel rejects the Palestinian Authority’s administration of the Gaza Strip after an end to the war in the West Bank. Everyone wants this, but it is impossible as long as the Authority incites people to hate Israelis and educates children to kill Israelis, a senior Israeli government official said. The USA, on the other hand, sees the autonomous authority of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which is more moderate in contrast to the Islamist Hamas, in a central role for the period after the war. However, Abbas, who has been in office for 18 years, is very unpopular among the Palestinians. Hamas, on the other hand, has become increasingly popular in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.

Israel’s army claims control over Hamas stronghold Shejaiya

The Israeli armed forces say they have established “operational control” over the Gaza district of Shejaiya, which is considered a Hamas stronghold. “Troops will continue to conduct limited operations in the neighborhood to destroy remaining Hamas infrastructure and kill militants in hiding,” the military said in a statement. Shejaiya in the north of the coastal strip was until recently the scene of fierce fighting between Israeli soldiers and terrorists from the Islamist Hamas. Late last week, the military accidentally shot three Israeli hostages there who had escaped from their captors.

After difficult negotiations, the compromise proposal for a Gaza resolution could now come to a vote in the UN Security Council on Friday. The council members recently found a compromise on the controversial question of how aid supplies should be checked: a newly appointed UN coordinator should check international aid shipments. After the negotiators made major concessions, the US ambassador to the UN announced that she would forego a veto in a vote.