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Three wars, one food crisis: the Middle East escalation chokes Gulf shipping while Africa's wars starve millions
The Middle East is running three simultaneous wars with no ceasefire holding. Israel is bombing Gaza under a collapsed October truce — over 1,000 post-ceasefire deaths — while fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon, where 4,000-plus have died since March. Iran's war with the US and Israel reignited in July after Hormuz shipping strikes; Strait traffic has collapsed to roughly 15 transits daily versus 110 pre-war. Meanwhile Sudan's civil war entered its fourth year with RSF drone strikes on El Obeid killing 45 civilians and famine confirmed in two cities. DR Congo's M23 seized new territory in South Kivu this month. Haiti's gangs hold 90 percent of the capital.
The connection is food. Global food prices remain elevated, and the Hormuz chokepoint directly governs Gulf grain and fertilizer imports to the Horn of Africa — a region already in catastrophic famine across Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia. Drought is ongoing across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia simultaneously. Currency collapse in Iran, Sudan, and Yemen makes imports unaffordable regardless of availability. The compounding effect: wars destroy local production, shipping disruption raises import costs, and currency collapse makes those costs unbearable for populations already in famine. Africa's Sahel belt from Mali to Burkina Faso faces the same siege-and-starvation pattern, with besieged towns at famine risk.
Watch items
- Iran — Hormuz blockade impact on Gulf food imports
- Sudan — RSF ground assault on El Obeid imminent
- Lebanon — Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire collapse and widening ground operations