Yesterday, the IMF and the World Bank warned that the Gaza war and shipping-related attacks in the Red Sea will pose a threat to the global economy.
The Israel-Hamas war that has worsened since October has had a major impact on the economy of the Middle East and North Africa region. The IMF expects it to have an impact on the world as the fighting drags on for longer.
According to the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva said that she fears that the conflict will continue because the economic risks will also grow.
He sees the disruption of shipping trade flows in the Suez Canal as a threat to the global business industry. It follows an attack by the Houthi group in Yemen, which has attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea as a sign of protest against Israel.
The Houthis said they were targeting what they believed to be Israeli-related shipping as a sign of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. this also prompts some cargo ships to take longer and more expensive routes to avoid attacks.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development warned late last month that the volume of commercial traffic using the Suez Canal had fallen by more than 40% in the previous two months.
The Gaza Strip has now been under heavy Israeli attack for over four months in response to the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel.
Israel vowed to destroy the group and launched airstrikes and ground attacks that have killed at least 28,340 people. Most of them were women and children, according to the health ministry in the Gaza region.
