Unprecedented Conflict in Middle East: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen on Edge of Catastrophe

International

Tommy Patrio Sorongan, CNBC Indonesia

News

Monday, 01/22/2024 21:50 IWST

Photo: Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire on the Lebanese border amid fears that the war in Gaza will spread. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Middle East (Middle East) is currently in an unstable condition. The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has triggered the involvement of several militias such as the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as countries such as Iran and Syria.

The war has left parts of the region devastated. Gaza, for example, has seen many buildings and vital infrastructure destroyed. In fact, hospitals in the area were destroyed by attacks from the Israeli military.

The UN Humanitarian Agency, OCHA, reported that even before the Israel-Hamas war broke out, neighboring Lebanon and Syria had experienced major challenges. Yemen, on the other hand, has earned the title of being home to the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.

“We have a recent history of large-scale crises across the region and now we are facing the most intense conflict (Gaza) we have seen in a modern generation, which risks giving rise to another conflict,” said James Denselow, head of conflict and humanitarian policy at Save the Children, to The GuardianMonday (22/1/2024).

“For us, as a children’s charity, this is very bad.”

Four concurrent crises in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen have put unprecedented pressure on aid agencies. The humanitarian community has had to accept the harsh reality that it can no longer meet demand.

“The combination of humanitarian crises in the Middle East, including the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, has put greater pressure than we have ever seen on donors’ financial ability to respond and humanitarian actors’ ability to meet their needs,” said Jeff Feltman, senior researcher at the UN Foundation .

“Things are bad, but the consensus is that bleaker times are ahead. It will probably get worse before it gets better,” said Jens Laerke, a senior official at OCHA in Geneva.

Below are some descriptions of the situation and conditions in the four Middle Eastern regions.

1. Syria

As the 13th anniversary of the Syrian conflict approaches, the war-torn country finds itself plunged into an increasingly serious humanitarian disaster.

A recent assessment concluded that 85% of households cannot even meet their basic needs and 70% require humanitarian assistance. The country, the UN says, is also at the center of “the world’s largest refugee crisis”.

Humanitarian needs in Syria, according to the European Commission recently, have reached an “all-time high”.

The war in that country has not shown any signs of ending even though many countries have intervened. On Monday, Türkiye organized airstrikes against Kurdish fighters in the country. The next day, Iran fired missiles into northern Syria.

Two days later, Thursday, it was Jordan’s turn, this time attacking targets in the south of the country. Rounding out a tumultuous week were Saturday’s suspected airstrikes on top Iranian military figures in Damascus.

2. Gaza (Palestine)

In early October, few Palestinians in Gaza could have imagined how fundamentally their lives would change. Most recently, satellite imagery recorded the extent of destruction in much of the coastal area around 100 days since Israel began its offensive.

At least half of his homes are believed to have been destroyed or damaged. More than 85% of the population has been displaced. A senior UN official recently described the narrow Gaza Strip as “uninhabitable” territory.

In the dead of winter, hundreds of thousands of people survive in temporary shelters, in cars or in the open.

“More than 1.4 million of the pre-war population of 2.3 million live in overcrowded and unsanitary shelters,” according to the UN.

3. Lebanon

Four years after its historic economic crisis, Lebanon has long been considered one of the countries facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than half of its population of 5.8 million people depend on humanitarian aid for basic needs.

Once again, aid agencies are concerned that not enough aid is being provided. The day before the Hamas attack on October 7, the UN was concerned and warned that the amount of aid given to Lebanon was far less than the minimum survival level that is usually distributed.

This situation is likely to be exacerbated by the attacks on Gaza and their impact on aid throughout the Middle East.

Daily difficulties are compounded by the impact of inflation and currency depreciation which drives up basic commodity prices. Additionally, more than 1.2 million people need support to access clean water and sanitation.

Large numbers of Syrian refugees, fleeing the war across the border, are adding to the pressure on the fragile country.

“Lebanon now hosts the highest number of refugees per capita and per square kilometer in the world,” the UN data added.

4. Wealth

Before the Houthis’ involvement in the Red Sea offensive, the Gulf state, devastated by years of civil war, had failed in many ways.

Some 21 million Yemenis, or two-thirds of the population, depend on aid to survive. Of these, more than 14 million people are under threat due to “acute urgent needs”. In addition, at least 3 million people have been displaced from their homes since 2015.

Recent attacks by the United States (US) and Britain on the Houthis have sparked new panic, with some aid operations stalled. This is a problem because the world’s 200 humanitarian organizations usually distribute aid to an average of 8.9 million Yemenis every month.

(luc/luc)

2024-01-22 14:50:00
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