TODAY, October 7, marks a year after the escalation of the war in the Middle East. It is the day when Hamas and several other Palestinian nationalist militant groups launched co-ordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza Envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas, is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist political organisation with a military wing called the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades. It has governed the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007. The Hamas movement was founded in 1987, after the outbreak of the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation. It emerged from 1973 Mujama al-Islamiya Islamic charity affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
October 7 2023 is the day that set the tone for major global political dynamics overshadowing the Ukraine war that had escalated in February 2022 and threatened to ignite a third world war. With the Western world shifting its attention to the Middle East, the Russian war in Ukraine fizzled from the global radar with its relevance largely linked to political pride rather than strategic cause despite its far-reaching political and economic impact.
The Middle East war was a clear sign and indication of where the Western allegiance was or is when it comes to investing in defending states and people. Nowadays, wars should never be about allegiance but the safety and security of people — humanity. That factor seems to be overlooked as global leaders prioritise political interests over humanity.
For example, since October 7, 2023, about 41 000 people have been killed, according to Palestinian authorities while several thousands of people were killed on the Israeli side. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is described to have reached catastrophic levels due to massive food shortages, the spread of disease and the displacement of nearly 2 million people.
The impact of the war was felt within Gaza, the Middle East and beyond. The Palestinian economy was massively impacted. Israel's economic growth reportedly slowed down at the onset of the war before picking up later during the war. However, their neighbouring countries have felt the economic impact of the war, while countries that rely on the Red Sea for logistics and supplies have had to endure disruptions to maritime traffic.
Keep Reading
- ‘Paltry salaries aching Zim workers’
- Underage, teenage maids sprout in Gwanda
- ‘Paltry salaries aching Zim workers’
- Underage, teenage maids sprout in Gwanda
Over and above that the war in Gaza impacted global economies during the past 12 months, just that lack of data makes it harder to quantify. However, with the recent escalation, the International Monetary Fund has warned of significant economic ramifications for the middle Eastern region and the global economy unless an immediate solution is found to de-escalate the war.
The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East must end. But these are the hot potatoes no one wants to peel given that the United States of America — a major stakeholder in both situations — is going through an election season. The outcome of the elections will determine the US policy positions and its relationship with allies and enemies. Until that is resolved and finalised, it does not appear there would be leadership to address these global issues.
For some, it is an opportunity to make more ground before the United States settles its political positions, while for others it is a moment to wait and see before making concrete policy directions for fear of antagonising whoever takes over the leadership of the US.
It does not help that candidates in the US election seem to have picked sides instead of remaining neutral to give hope for peace talks. On September 27, former President Donald Trump, also the current Republican presidential candidate, met Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky in New York and called for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Trump is known to be close to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
On the other hand, Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Presidential candidate, was quoted saying: “Let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.”
She later noted that “at the same time what has happened in Gaza in the past months is devastating. So many innocent lives were lost. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking”.
In a context where the world is divided by several political and economic interests, one would have expected American presidential candidates to position themselves as potential peacemakers. The European Union and some of its member States have issued biased statements and again that is not helping the situation.
The geopolitical changes are already in motion. China and some of the Asian economies are silently reaping the gains of the global fallouts. Russia is no longer perturbed over its war in Ukraine because the Western bloc is oversubscribed. The US and its Western allies have adopted weaker positions on the Middle East war despite its potential global political and economic impact. What will the next 12 months look like? The world needs peace and leadership must drive that agenda.