PLO LUMUMBA: TERRORIST OR FREEDOM FIGHTER? DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK

Insecurity in West Asia and the Horn of Africa is surging, as a new front in the Palestine-Israel conflict has opened in the Red Sea.

Soon after the 7 October escalation in the Gaza Strip, Yemen's Houthi rebels—officially known as Ansar Allah—began throttling international trade in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

About 30 per cent of global container traffic and more than 1 million barrels of crude oil flow each day through the Suez Canal, which can only be reached through this strait that connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea.

Despite a barrage of recent US and UK missile strikes on Yemen, the Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks until Israel allows humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.