A breakthrough in the Israel-Hamas war is necessary for humanitarian and economic reasons

Editorial: Self-interest may yet prove key to dialling down tensions in the Middle East. The attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes – and the knock-on effect for vital supply chains of consumer goods – will focus minds in the West

‘HMS Diamond’ is on her way to the Red Sea as part of a coaliton to protect commercial shipping (MoD)

Israel’s war in Gaza is no longer Israel’s alone – if, indeed, it ever was. We know this not least because, in their various public utterances over the past day or so, both the US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, have acknowledged as much.

From Mr Austin’s point of view, the recent upsurge in Islamist actions against US forces in Syria and Iraq, and the dramatic attacks on civilian shipping in the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal and Europe, represents a deeply concerning spread of the conflict. Mr Netanyahu – equally cognisant of the links between Iran and Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen and other rebels groups behind the violence against Western interests – seemed rather less concerned than Mr Austin about the United States getting drawn into a clash with Tehran and its proxies.

It might well suit Israel’s short-term interests to get a superpower more actively involved in challenging Iran. It would not, however, be a wise move for anyone else and, in the longer term, could only make Israel less secure. What is needed, as more and more voices are crying out for now, is a de-escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict, and a radical change in Israeli tactics and a sustainable ceasefire. The dialling down of tensions has to start in Gaza.