On today's show, we look at two indicators of the economic disruptions of the war in Gaza and try to trace how far they will reach. We start in the Red Sea, a crucial link in the global supply chain connecting to the Suez Canal, with around 15% of the world's shipping passing through it. This includes oil tankers and massive container ships transporting everything from microchips to furniture. With Houthi rebels attacking container ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, shipping lines are re-routing, adding time and cost to delivery. We look at how ocean shipping is a web more than a chain of links, and try to see which parts of the web can take up more strain as the Red Sea and the Suez Canal become too dangerous to pass. Then, we'll consider what escalation could mean for the region's most important export: oil. Five steps of escalation each mean a ratcheting up of costs that knock on to other industries, like food. Some prices are likely to rise faster than others, though. Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
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Tensions in the Middle east continue to ratchet higher as the conflict in Israel, Israel and Gaza rages.
Other regional and international actors are beginning to get involved.
The militant group Hezbollah has fired missiles into Israel from Lebanon, while houthi rebels from Yemen have attacked ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Those attacks, in turn, have provoked a military response, including strikes on the mainland of Yemen from both the US and the UK.
And this week, Iran launched a ballistic missile strike into northern Iraq, saying it was aimed at Israelis who it claims were involved in a suicide bombing in Iran.
Recently, our colleagues at NBR have been covering the political and human toll of this continued escalation.
And today we trace some of the economic ripple effects of the conflict as it expands outwards.
We look at the three stages of possible escalation and the pressures they put on the region's biggest export, oil.
But first we start in the Red Sea, where american warships are defending global shipping routes.
Weyland Wong and Adrian Ma pick it up after the break with a story we ran on our shorter daily show.