STORY: Risk of Israel-Hamas conflict threatens stability of wider region
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Jan. 22, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:50
LOCATION: Cairo
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the U.S. Capitol building
2. various of Gaza
3. various of tensions in Red Sea
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): AYMAN SAFADI, Jordanian Foreign Minister
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): TANJA FAJON, Slovenian Foreign Minister
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Spanish): PEDRO SANCHEZ, Spanish Prime Minister
7. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): MIR MOHAMMAD ALI KHAN, Former Wall Street investment banker

STORYLINE:

The U.S. military announced on Saturday it had attacked a Houthi anti-ship missile in Yemen as the group prepared to launch the projectile into the Gulf of Aden.

This event has increased concerns about a wider war in the Middle East amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

In recent weeks, the Red Sea tensions, increasing attacks on U.S. and Israeli bases in Iraq, and Iranian strikes on targets in neighboring countries, along with the Israel-Lebanon border tension, have again fueled speculation of a larger conflict.

The Middle East region is of great economic significance.

It has the world's largest reserves of oil and other energy resources.

The Red Sea is vital to international trade.

The escalation of tension has had devastating economic effects, and countries in the region are the first ones to bear the brunt.
  
According to the chairman of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, ship traffic in the Suez Canal has decreased by 30 percent since the beginning of 2024 compared to the same period last year.

A latest World Bank report on global economic prospects says attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea have already begun to disrupt key shipping routes, eroding slack in supply networks and increasing the likelihood of inflationary bottlenecks.

The report also warns that this situation could have significant spillovers to other commodity prices and heighten geopolitical and economic uncertainty.  

This, in turn, could dampen investment and lead to further weakening of growth.

Political leaders and experts have repeatedly called for a ceasefire and peace as the deteriorating security situation could once again detonate the Middle East.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): AYMAN SAFADI, Jordanian Foreign Minister
"Israel should not be able to determine the fate of this region. Israel should not be allowed to continue to drag us into the abyss of war."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): TANJA FAJON, Slovenian Foreign Minister
"People in Gaza shall be allowed to peacefully and with dignity and in a safe way living in Gaza. So no forced displacement, refusal of displacement of people of Gaza. This is definitely some point we can all agree."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Spanish): PEDRO SANCHEZ, Spanish Prime Minister
"We defend the right of every nation to exist and defend itself. But with the same conviction and values, we also have to demand an end to the deaths of civilians in Gaza. At some point during the legislature, we will have to address the recognition of the Palestinian state by the government of Spain."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): MIR MOHAMMAD ALI KHAN, Former Wall Street investment banker
"The most decent thing is please do not create a humanitarian crisis. Go back to the negotiation table, create a two-state solution, learn to live in peace."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo.
(XHTV)