srael’s genocidal war on Gaza has entered its fourth bloodied month, with bombardment of civilians every hour. More than 25,000 innocent and unarmed children, women, teenagers and the elderly have been brutally killed by the Israeli Defense Forces. Last Wednesday, Israeli hyper-nationalist government and Hamas made a humanitarian deal, brokered by Qatar, to provide medical aid to Israeli captives and allowing more basic supplies into debilitated Gaza. However, end to this genocidal war seems less likely if Netanyahu’s statements and the (military) support his anti-humanity regime is receiving from the US and its European allies. “The US has handed Israel $3.8 billion in military assistance annually in recent years, ranging from fighter jets to powerful bombs. Amid the war in Gaza, President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve an additional $14 billion.”

The unequivocal US political support and military aid to Israel have, on the one hand, boosted IDF’s organisational morale and defence capabilities and, on the other, ignited agony and revenge in the anti-Israel and anti-US militias such as Houthis, which are generally believed to have moral, financial and military support of Iran. The latter holds the US, a key sponsor of Israeli military aggression against hapless Gazans, responsible for the plight of Palestinians.

The IDF has willfully and mercilessly arrested, injured and killed Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7. For their part, the US and Israel accuse Iran of making, funding, arming and using proxies, i.e. Hezbollah, to pursue its geopolitical interests in the wider Middle Eastern region.

In the wake of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, Iran has warned the Israeli Zionist movement to halt its anti-humanity military operations in occupied Palestine. Iran-backed militant organisations based in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria have warned Tel Aviv and Washington of dire consequences if the war on Gaza is not stopped. Since Netanyahu and his ‘war cabinet’ indicated a ‘prolonged war’ in Gaza on October 7. The consequent killings on a daily basis in Gaza ultimately brought the Iran-backed regional proxies into action.

Unsurprisingly, the Yemini Houthis have, since November 2023, started launching attacks on American and European cargo ships that sail past the western coast of Yemen. The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Yahya Sarea, said in a statement that the Yemeni rebels targeted the Zografia ship with naval missiles on [last] Tuesday as it was heading to Israel, resulting in a “direct hit”… The vessel had been heading north to the Suez Canal when it was attacked,” said the Greek Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy. More than 50 countries have reportedly been badly affected in more than 30 attacks on international commercial shipping. In addition, crews from more than 20 countries have been threatened with dire consequences; many have been taken hostage. Owing to proxy attacks, more than 2,000 ships have been forced to re-route in a bid to avoid the Red Sea.

If the US and Israel prefer to continue with the warring strategy to annihilate the Palestinians, the Iran-backed militias are likely to escalate their proxy warfare against the former. The intensification of proxy war would not only further jeopardise regional peace and security but also expand into other countries, i.e. Jordan, which currently sit on the fence.

The Houthis seem determined to continue with such attacks on Western vessels until Israel stops its war against Gazans. Anticipating more attacks, Western trading and shipping companies have rerouted some container-carrying ships to southern Africa, these sea routes are proving inefficient in terms of cost and time. This is what the Iranian policy makers keep in mind whenever they invoke militias against its rivals in the Middle East and else.

Israel and its top supporter, namely, the US, have earlier shown restraint by not expanding the war zone into, for example, Northern Lebanon though the former has cautioned Iran not to aid Hamas through its regional proxies. The Houthis attacks on the commercial interests of the US-led Western world have infuriated the latter who has resorted to military means. “[A]t my direction, US military forces together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” said the US president, Joe Biden.

The US and its allies claim to have destroyed important military installations of the Yemen-based Houthis. The latter, however, seem undeterred if the statements of their spokesperson are a point of reference. Importantly, Iran led by Ali Khamenei, too, looks determined to target more Western, particularly American, interests in the Middle East. Iran has been investing billions of dollars into its various proxies in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. Hamas, too, has received Iranian political, if not military, support in the ongoing war with Israel.

The onus to pressure the Zionist regime in Israel to stop the war permanently in Gaza/ Palestine rests with the Biden administration. It must listen to the millions in the Western capitals demanding an immediate and lasting ceasefire. If the US and Israel prefer to continue with the warring strategy to annihilate the Palestinians, the Iran-backed militias are likely to escalate their proxy warfare. The intensification of proxy war would not only further jeopardise regional peace and security but also expand into other countries, i.e. Jordan, which currently sit on the fence.

The American, European and Israeli authorities ought to pay heed to what, for example, the Chinese leadership is asking for: de-escalate, make a ceasefire in Gaza and seek a durable solution to the Palestinian issue, lingering for more than seven decades. Pakistan has shared similar concerns. A regional war in the Middle East will also affect Iran’s relations with its immediate neighbours.

The writer has a PhD in political science from Heidelberg University and a post-doc from UC Berkeley. He is a DAAD, FDDI and Fulbright fellow and an associate professor. He can be reached at ejaz.bhatty@gmail.com