Wetherhorn

The past two days were marked by tragedies that often occur in war. Some were probably avoidable and that just makes them even sadder. An employee of USAID, and most of his family, was killed in Gaza, probably by IAF bombing. The reports are not sufficiently detailed for Israel to confirm or deny responsibility. There are communications protocols in place for the IAF to be notified of where and when USAID workers are expected to be. They were devised to help avoid cases like this. What happened here may have been due to someone failing to follow them. At this time, the only fact that is clear is that the individual (who appears not to be a US citizen) is dead. The Washington Post seems intent upon making this a cause celebre for making the US rein in the Israeli forces. I don’t recall them making as much of an issue out of any Hamas activities.

Another tragedy ensued when 3 hostages either escaped or were abandoned by their guards. The trio hid in a building, painted “S O S” on the wall. And emerged, shirtless and bearing a white flag, when they saw Israeli forces outside. IDF standing orders of engagement ought to have resulted in them being rescued, but someone got trigger happy, cries out “Terrorists”, and opened fire on them. Final result: instead of being liberated they are now dead. The bodies of two other hostages that were killed by Hamas were also recovered in another location. In defense of the soldiers I must add that they have recently encountered ambushes set by Hamas that were “baited” by playing on a loudspeaker a recording of a baby crying in order to have IDF soldiers enter the structure with their guard down.

On the most serious side, the Houthi declarations (and actions) regarding shipping headed for the Suez Canal have actually resulted in major disruptions to INTERNATIONAL trade. The Houthi definition of a “legitimate target” now includes any ship that has ANY connection to Israel. This includes shareholders of a non-Israeli shipping line, a vessel carrying cargo destined for Israel (or Israeli made), and any ship that is going to an Israeli port, or has ever been in an Israeli port. And, it seems, they don’t really bother to check. Some attacks and attempted pirate hijackings have been thwarted by naval forces stationed in the area to protect civilian shipping. The escort force includes American, British, and Dutch warships and a German frigate will soon join them. But their activities are limited to defending civilian ships, or assisting them if they have been damaged by Houthi missiles. So far, the Houthis have not suffered any recriminations for their open disregard of international law and freedom of the seas.

Similarly, Houthi missile and drone attacks aimed at Israel have not resulted in actions aimed at the source of the attacks. But American 5^th Fleet warships did shoot down at least a dozen drones headed north over the Red Sea.