On the night of Sunday, Britain and the United States attacked around 36 targets in the Middle East. The situation there is now described as the worst in many decades.
Former Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt is concerned about the situation.
– Since October 7, it just gets worse and worse all the time, says Bildt.
Huthi rebels are attacking ships on the Red Sea and the bloody fighting in Gaza is claiming more and more human lives. These are just a few of all the conflicts in the Middle East right now. Carl Bildt emphasizes that the situation is escalating.
– There are more conflicts and there is really no solution to any of them, says the former Minister of State and Foreign Affairs.
The situation is tense throughout the Middle East, but Carl Bildt believes that the core of the conflict is the situation in Gaza. According to him, a ceasefire and exchange of hostages and prisoners could potentially end Huthi rebels’ attacks as well.
– In any case, they have said that they are doing this as long as the Gaza situation continues, he says.
“Huthi has significant resistance”
Unless the situation in Gaza changes and is de-escalated, Carl Bildt does not believe that the conflict situation surrounding the Huthi rebels will end particularly quickly – this despite the US and UK’s attempts to defeat them.
– It remains to be seen whether they can withstand the bomb attacks, but one should not forget that Saudi Arabia has bombed the Huthis quite a lot, so they have significant resistance to this.
Hopes for a ceasefire
Nor does the situation in Gaza appear to be close to a solution. After the meeting in Paris between the head of the CIA and the head of the Mossad, hopes were raised for a cease-fire in Gaza – but that has not happened.
– Israel should have an interest in making progress because the military situation has stalled a bit. It has been going on for a very long time with very extensive destruction without them having achieved the goals, says Bildt.
He believes Israel may eventually be forced into a negotiation to get the hostages out alive. However, he believes that there is a strong divided opinion in the Israeli government and also militant forces in Hamas which complicate the situation.
– The damage is very large. If we thought a few weeks ago that we would make progress there, we haven’t made any progress at all so far, says Carl Bildt.
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