‘One rash move could trigger a catastrophe’ in the Middle East

NEW YORK, USA – A recent surge in cross-border deadly attacks risks escalating violence across the Middle East and requires immediate de-escalation efforts, top UN officials warned the Security Council on Monday.

“One rash move, one miscalculation could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the borders and, frankly, beyond imagination,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, in a briefing via videoconference.

The meeting, called by France, United Kingdom and the United States, came on the heels of a Houthi drone attack against Tel Aviv, Israel, on 19 July, which left one dead and 10 others injured. On 20 July, Israel deployed airstrikes on the Hudaydah Port in Yemen, killing at least six people, injuring 80 others and leaving widespread damage of civilian infrastructure.

These attacks and other recent strikes “risk a further regional conflagration”, she said, pointing to intensified Israeli military operations across Gaza, clashes across the Blue Line between Israel and Hezbollah as well as Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) attacks on Syria, discussed by Council members earlier on Monday, she said.

“These latest developments show the real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation,” she stressed.

42 Houthi attacks against vessels in the Red Sea

In Yemen, the fragile gains resulting from the 2022 UN-brokered truce “are being eclipsed by violent escalation in the region”, she cautioned, referring to the Houthis’s continued attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, in contravention of Security Council resolutions 2722 and 2739, both adopted earlier this year.

The Houthis have claimed that the attacks are “purportedly in support of the people of the Gaza Strip,” she said.

As of Monday, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has verified 42 Houthi attacks, she added.

Strikes on Yemen

The Under-Secretary-General said the IDF had stated that the strikes in Yemen were in response to previous Houthi “terror attacks” on Israel for the last nine months, which have numbered more than 200 aerial attacks against Israeli civilians and infrastructure.

“Hudaydah Port is a lifeline for millions of people in Yemen,” which relies heavily on imports of essential items such as food, medicine and fuel, with the majority of these goods arriving through the port,” DiCarlo continued. “It is essential for the port to be open and operating. Any military campaign in its vicinity risks having devastating consequences for civilians.”

Head of UN mission: Fires still burning

Major General Michael Beary, Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee and Head of the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement, (UNMHA), provided details on the latest events following the Israeli attacks on Yemen.

Briefing via videoconference from Hudaydah, he told members that the Israeli airstrikes had targeted fuel storage, cranes, infrastructure, military police offices and a power station.

The fires are still burning, he said.

“I wish to echo the Secretary-General’s expression of deep concern about the risk of further escalation in the region,” he continued.

Urging all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, he pledged the UN Mission’s ongoing effort to discharge its mandate, including deploying regular patrols of the port and supporting de-escalation initiatives.

US: Council must speak with one voice

United States ambassador Robert A. Wood said some Council members had advanced a “false narrative” that the Houthis are attacking vessels in the Red Sea in support of the people of Gaza, but the truth is that “the Houthis are terrorists.”

“The only appropriate response is to condemn these attacks,” he said, voicing support for Israel’s right to defend itself.

At the same time, the Yemeni people are suffering, he said.

Given the current situation, he said the Council must respond, holding the Houthis and Iran accountable, and “must speak with one voice.”

Russia: Gaza ceasefire is ‘only way’ to end current crisis

Vassily Nebenzia, permanent representative of Russia, which holds the Council presidency for July, spoke in his national capacity, saying that drones, missiles and other types of weapons are launched towards Israel by opponents of its actions in Gaza almost every day.

However, Israel’s “bloody operation” in the Gaza Strip has been going on for almost ten months, already claiming the lives of 39,000 innocent Gazans despite the unequivocal position of the entire international community and the decisions of international bodies, including the UN Security Council.

“The IDF continues its brutal cleansing of the enclave, one of the most densely populated areas in the world,” he said. “Now, we risk another acute conflict.”

He said the way out of the current crisis “is very clear to all of us. We need an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza as well as the release of all hostages held in the enclave and arbitrarily detained Palestinians,” he said.

Israel: Iran ‘must be stopped’

Israeli deputy permanent representative Brett Jonathan Miller said that since the beginning of the current war in Gaza, Israel has had to defend itself on seven fronts, with Iran supporting such groups as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Israel had decided to react under its right to self-defence in the face of the 7 October attacks against it, he continued. That includes Yemen’s Hudaydah Port, which is being used for terrorist purposes and therefore “is a legitimate target”, he added.

“Iran is the head of the snake; it arms, trains and finances the Houthis” and “must be stopped”, he said, calling on the Council to impose sanctions, harshly condemn the Houthis and support Israel’s right to defend itself.

Security Council to meet on Yemen

On Tuesday, the Council is scheduled to hold its monthly meeting on Yemen.

In late June, Council members had demanded that Houthi rebels in Yemen immediately cease all attacks against merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Adopting resolution 2739, with 12 votes in favour and three abstentions (Algeria, China and Russia), the Council also requested monthly reports from the secretary-general on the crisis in the Red Sea until January next year.