US continues to fan flames in the Middle East: China Daily editorial

The bombing of Houthi targets in Yemen by the United States and the United Kingdom forces last week was irresponsible and unwise. It will only serve to make the situation in the Middle East even more complicated.

The US and its allies are worsening the situation with such actions. Since there is a casual link between the escalating tensions in the Red Sea and Israel's relentless military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, Washington should rein in the bloodlust of Tel Aviv if it wants to stop the attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

The fact that it hasn't already done so — and that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken just wrapped up his fourth visit to the Middle East last week since the Gaza conflict broke out without once calling for a cease-fire — suggests that Washington intends to take advantage of the Gaza conflict to create turmoil in the region once again.

Just as Tel Aviv seems to be hell-bent on using the Hamas' attacks on Oct 7, which resulted in about 1,200 deaths and more than 200 people being taken hostage, to justify it doing something that it has been wanting to do for a long time.

US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he has delivered an urgent private message to Iran about Iran-backed Houthis "attacking commercial shipping" in the Red Sea, but the quickly rising tensions in the region over the past weekend suggest he offered little if anything to help end the crisis.

No matter how the US tries to pretend to care about the peace and stability of the region, the whole world can see clearly that it has enabled Israel to upgrade its offensive in Gaza to a scale and intensity that go far beyond what Tel Aviv and Washington claim is "self-defense".

If the US really cares about the hostages of its ally, it should cherish mediation efforts — such as that by Qatar that will enable medicines to be delivered to the remaining hostages still held by Hamas in the following days — and any window of opportunity that is created to end the hostilities.

The Houthi militia threatened a "strong and effective response" after the US carried out another strike in Yemen overnight on Saturday, shortly after hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Sana'a, capital of Yemen, chanting slogans denouncing Israel and the US.

Washington should realize that its "surgical" strikes over the past decades in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, including Afghanistan, have only bred animosity toward it.

The Red Sea is an important international trade route for goods and energy. All parties involved, including Washington, should seek to play a constructive and responsible role in maintaining the security and stability of the Red Sea and help bring an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas as soon as possible, which is in line with the common interests of the international community.