By Xin Ping

Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

The Middle East, a region scarred by decades of conflict, is once again teetering on the brink of catastrophe. As Gaza crumbles under Israeli bombardment and Iran faces escalating threats, US complicity in the bloodshed reveals a damning paradox at the heart of its global agenda.

The Middle East crisis isn't just a regional tragedy, it is a global threat that endangers countless human lives, destabilizes economies, and undermines the foundational principles of peace.

With its vast oil reserves and energy exports, the Middle East's stability is the linchpin of the global economy. The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, is the world's most critical energy chokepoint. Every day, 20 million barrels of oil - accounting for around 20 percent of global oil trade - flow through its waters.

In 2022, regional turmoil, particularly coordinated attacks on oil tankers, raised oil prices, rippling through markets and stalling post-COVID economic recovery. However, the ongoing violence, stoked by Israeli aggression with American backing, risks further transforming Hormuz into a geopolitical battleground. If disrupted, global energy markets would implode, inflation would spiral and global supply chains would be paralyzed.

The cost of this chaos extends beyond economics - it threatens the survival of nations. The US' enabling of the atrocities in Gaza is a grotesque betrayal of its democratic pretensions. While Washington preaches freedom and human rights to the world, it shamelessly greenlights Israel's militarized brutality in Gaza. In 2023 alone, the US funneled $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel - arming its forces with F-35 jets, precision-guided missiles and other advanced weaponry.

During the over-one-year Gaza offensive, as Israeli airstrikes obliterated hospitals, schools and residential blocks - killing Palestinian women and children indiscriminately - Washington blocked every UN Security Council resolution condemning these acts. Amnesty International's report calling out Israel's tactics as "war crimes" echoes a global outcry.

This reveals the true nature of American "democracy": a system that prioritizes strategic alliances over human lives and that vetoes justice at the UN while lecturing the world on moral principles. This hypocrisy is sickening.

The crisis in the Middle East radiates into Europe through multiple vectors. Since the Syrian war and the recent Gaza escalation, the EU has absorbed millions of refugees, which overwhelmed its social systems, straining its budgets and fueling domestic uneasiness.

Germany, which spent more than 20 billion euros ($23.4 billion) on refugee resettlement in 2022, now faces rising anti-immigrant sentiment. Italy, battered by migrant influxes from Libya, struggles to balance humanitarian obligations with its own economic strain. Europe's energy dependence - a great amount of Italy's natural gas comes from the Middle East - is another vulnerability. As regional tensions hike oil prices, European inflation will most likely continue to surge, crippling households and industries.

Politically, radicalization risks within refugee communities and populist backlash threaten EU unity. Caught between moral imperatives and geopolitical powerlessness, Europe is paying a staggering price for the US' destabilizing policies.

The crisis in the Middle East is not a distant conflict - it is a global emergency. The world needs to act now. Every day of US-Israel impunity deepens human suffering and escalates spillover risks. The time for empty platitudes about "democracy" is over. Concrete action - including a genuine commitment to peace - is desperately needed.

Until the international community holds the architects of this chaos accountable, millions will continue to pay the price. The Middle East's agony is a global wound. We must heal it, or risk bleeding the world dry.