Middle East: Fanning the flames

Warnings have always been there from all sides that the entire Middle East region would get sucked into a spiral of war, even a World War III, if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict wasn’t checked. But never before have we been so close to seeing this warning become a reality. Whether all of the Middle East would be set aflame would depend on how Israel chooses to respond to Iran’s recent missile attacks. A crossing of the ‘redline’ set by Iran by attacking its oil and nuclear facilities and the entry of the US forces to help Israel would have disastrous consequences. Also, Iran has unequivocally warned Arab countries that helping Israel would be met with harsh response. Currently, the region and the world are waiting for the Israeli response to Iran, which it has promised.

That Benjamin Netanyahu hasn’t launched an attack yet is surprising considering that Israel is known for its swift reprisals. The delay doesn’t portend well for Tel Aviv; it’s either because Israel is planning for an unimaginably grave response or it’s scared of Iran’s retaliation. The latter seems more likely because Iran has proven that it has capabilities that would surprise Israel. Though Israel and the US at first downplayed the damage from the missiles fired from Iran, they later admitted that some damage had been inflicted. Most importantly, the Nevatim Airbase in Israel was hit, as was shown by satellite images. “The approximately 200 ballistic missiles launched Tuesday caused some damage in Israel, including in Israeli airbases. The attack sent 10 million Israelis rushing for cover and caused damage to civilian structures as well, including a school,” The Times of Israel reported.

The current war is characterized by several factors, the most important of which is the widening of the front. Unlike before, missiles and drones are raining on Israel from multiple fronts – from Gaza, southern Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, a scary scenario Israel could never have thought of. Houthis in Yemen have emerged as a powerful, unmanageable force threatening the entire region, now firing missiles and drones into Tel Aviv, having already wreaked havoc in the Red Sea, by blocking the maritime trade and sinking multiple ships. Amidst all the missiles and war rhetoric what is missing is sane voices. The US, instead of becoming a stabilizing and sane voice, has chosen to side with Israel in its war crimes. Israel has already bombed Gaza into stone age, and is now doing it in Lebanon. No commentator on 7 October last year, when Hamas attacked Israel, would have predicted that the war would still be fought with the utmost ferocity we are seeing now.

And no one would have predicted a year ago that Israel would be fighting for so long as all wars it has fought since its existence have been brief displays of brutal strength. The Middle East has always been as inflammable as oil, but this time the flames are threatening to engulf the entire world. Unless someone tells Benjamin Netanyahu to stop, someone he would listen to.