Israel-Hamas war: Iraq warns of effect on oil flow to international markets if conflict spreads

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Saturday warned that if the war between Israel and Hamas spreads to other countries in the region it will affect the flow of oil to international markets.

Al-Sudani was apparently referring to Iran-backed militias that have started launching attacks against US bases in Iraq and Syria and have warned they will step in if Hamas is threatened.

Al-Sudani told an international summit held in Egypt that Baghdad rejects the emptying of the Gaza Strip because “the Palestinians have no other place but their land.” He called for an immediate cease-fire and an exchange of prisoners to end the current conflict.

Al-Sudani said that the situation would not have reached this point had UN Security Council resolutions been respected, an apparent reference to Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank. He warned that the current conflict “will impact global security, escalate regional conflict, jeopardise energy supplies, exacerbate economic crises, and invite further conflicts.”

‘Don’t force Palestinians into Egypt’

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has reiterated his government’s rejection of forcing Palestinians in Gaza to flee into his country's Sinai Peninsula.

He said that the Palestinian cause won’t be settled through forcing the Palestinians to leave their homes, and “end the statehood dream”. “The whole Egyptian people won’t accept the liquidation of the Palestinian cause ... and will never happen on the expanse of Egypt,” el-Sissi said.

Speaking at a summit his government is hosting on Saturday, the Egyptian leader set out a roadmap to end the ongoing war which included ensuring the flow of aid to Gaza, negotiating a cease-fire, and embarking on peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians to establish a Palestinian state based on the borders before the 1967 Mideast war.

“We are facing an unprecedented crisis that requires full attention to avert expanding the conflict,” he said.

UN calls for protection of civilians

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Hamas’ “reprehensible assault” on Israel “can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”. He called for protection of civilians and the sparing of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and UN premises, from the bombardment.

Speaking at a summit Egypt is hosting on the Israel-Gaza war, Guterres pointed to the “the wider context” of war, saying that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “the only realistic foundation for a true peace and stability.” He said, “Israelis must see their legitimate needs for security materialized, and Palestinians must see their legitimate aspirations for an independent state realised.”

He said the UN is working around the clock with all parties to ensure a sustainable delivery of aid to Gaza, following the crossing of a first 20-truck convoy on Saturday. “But the people of Gaza need a commitment for much, much more — a continuous delivery of aid to Gaza at the scale that is needed,” he said.

Israel urged to delay Gaza offensive

While hundreds of tanks and armed soldiers await a green signal from the political and military leadership for a potential ‘ground offensive’ near the Gaza border, the US and Europe are discreetly urging Israel to delay the operation, The Times of Israel reported.

Citing senior diplomatic sources, The Times of Israel reported that both governments acknowledge a high probability of a ground invasion by Israel. They are not advising against launching one altogether but rather suggesting a temporary delay to explore the potential success of additional diplomatic initiatives.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo on Friday and noted the need for aid to be allowed into Gaza and for Hamas and Israel to avoid civilian casualties in their conflict. During the talks Sunak stressed the imperative of avoiding a wider regional conflict and preventing any further unnecessary loss of civilian life, his office said.

Israel’s fresh travel warning

Meanwhile, Israel urged its citizens to immediately leave Egypt and Jordan, the national security council said on Saturday as regional tensions flared over the war in Gaza.

“Israel’s National Security Council raises its travel warnings for Egypt (including Sinai) and Jordan to level 4 (high threat): recommendation not to travel to these countries and for those staying there to leave... as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.

The notice comes just days after Israel recalled its diplomats from Turkey as a security precaution following an earlier request for its citizens to leave as well. The evacuation calls came after days of protests across the Middle East over Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Trucks carrying aid roll into Gaza

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Egypt started rolling into war-torn and besieged Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday (October 21), a security source and an Egyptian Red Crescent official told AFP.

Egyptian state television showed several trucks entering the gate on the 15th day of the war between Israel and Hamas, the militant movement which rules the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people. However, aid groups have repeatedly described the 20-truck delivery as “a drop in the ocean”.

According to them, the humanitarian situation in the densely populated Gaza Strip is dire and aid agencies have been warning of a “catastrophic” shortage of medical supplies in the besieged enclave. Food and drinking water is also scare according to the UN, while sanitation facilities, water wells, reservoirs, and pumping stations have suffered damage due to the incessant air strikes.

Gaza under relentless attack

Meanwhile, Israel kept up heavy bombardment of targets throughout Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “vowed to fight until victory” following the release of the two US hostages by the Hamas group.

After the PM signalled no halt on Israel’s aerial onslaught and expected ground invasion, its military said fighter jets had struck “a large number of Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip” including command centres and combat positions inside multi-storey buildings. Palestinian media said Israel aircraft had struck six homes in the north of Gaza, a coastal enclave, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens.

Earlier, Israel had asked its ground troops to get organised and ready to enter Gaza at any time. “Whoever sees Gaza from afar now, will see it from the inside,” Israeli defence minister said. “I promise you.”

‘Bid to derail US-Saudi ties’

US President Joe Biden said on Friday (October 20) that he thought Hamas was motivated to attack Israel in part by a desire to stop that country from normalising relations with Saudi Arabia.

“One of the reasons Hamas moved on Israel … they knew that I was about to sit down with the Saudis,” Biden said at a fundraising event. The US president indicated that he thinks Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on October 7 because, “Guess what? The Saudis wanted to recognise Israel” and were near being able to formally do so.

Jerusalem and Riyadh had been steadily inching closer to normalization, with Biden working to help bring the two countries together, announcing plans in September at the Group of 20 summit in India to partner on a shipping corridor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September and told him, “I think that under your leadership, Mr President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.” The Saudis had been insisting on protection and expanded rights for Palestinian interests as part of any broader agreement with Israel. An agreement would have been a feat of diplomacy that could have enabled broader recognition of Israel by other Arab and Muslim-majority nations that have largely opposed Israel since its creation 75 years ago in territory where Palestinians have long resided.

But talks were interrupted after Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip where Palestinians live into nearby Israeli towns.

The October 7 attack coincided with a major Jewish holiday. It led to retaliatory airstrikes by Israel that have left the world on edge with the US trying to keep the war from widening, as 1,400 Israelis and 4,137 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas also captured more than 200 people as hostages after the initial assault..