Israeli-Hamas War: Global Power Shift?

From the late 20th century until now, The United States of America has been the leading and most influential player in international relations. The unipolarity of the world permitted the United States to interfere and be the country any state or non-state actor wanted to have on their side. The war in Ukraine was the main break of this unipolarity. In a sense, Russia perceived the United States’s political weakness and took advantage of following its objectives.

In the past month, one of Hamas’s leaders, Khaled Mashal, on Sada Al-Balad TV channel from Egypt, has emphasized that China and Russia should take advantage of the present situation. The main reason for this is that the United States has made it clear that they support Israel after Hamas’s aggression on October 7 and the need for Israel to eradicate the terrorist organization that runs the Gaza Strip. If China and Russia do decide to join the war or support Hamas, they would be fighting the United States and testing its force. The fact that China and Russia are permanent members of the UN and at the same time support Hamas, they can veto their political opposition and help Hamas get away with the Massacre. Furthermore, Khaled Mashal also claims that the infiltration into Israeli territory and its tactics was a vast triumph and that China and Russia will most likely replicate it to serve its interests.

Additionally, on the same appearance on Sada Al-Balad Tv Mashal emphasizes the broad support they have worldwide, mainly from people from the left and governments of countries such as Russia, China and North Korea. According to the IDF, from the armament used by the al-Qassam Brigades to assault Israeli Civilians on October 7, were manufactured within the Gaza Strip, but some others were made in Russia, China or North Korea. Meaning there is an indirect involvement of the countries previously mentioned in the conflict against the Jewish State.

Among Hamas’s leaders, Ismail Haniyeh has also pronounced himself in favor of further involvement. In an interview for Arab media, he asked Arab rulers to join, and more specifically, he mentioned the countries that surround Israel, meaning Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Haniyeh promotes engagement with Arab countries by presenting the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. If Arab countries decide to join, even if it seems unlikely, it can cause a shift in power dynamics.

The result is that countries like China or Russia are, on the contrary, increasing their economic and military power and expanding global influence. The power balance shift to their favor may come if these countries take advantage of the present scenario. There is a clear need for more response from the United States and its allies in current conflicts to avoid this power shift. The present power dynamics will not change by this war alone, but it could if combined with technological, economic, military, and political elements.

It is essential that Israel, in these shifting sands of conflict, takes the necessary steps not to find itself isolated and in a difficult position in the Middle East so that peace with the Arab world is still on the table after the war, in particular with one of its key players, Saudi Arabia.