Omani FM Warns Against Military Confrontation in Strait of Hormuz

Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi (File photo: Reuters)
Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi (File photo: Reuters)
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Omani FM Warns Against Military Confrontation in Strait of Hormuz

Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi (File photo: Reuters)
Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi (File photo: Reuters)

Oman works for easing of tension in the Arab Gulf region, however, a military confrontation in the region is not likely to happen now, announced Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi.

The Minister warned that a military confrontation is more likely to happen in the Strait of Hormuz than any other region in the Gulf, partially due to the increased number of military vessels.

In a dialogue session dedicated to addressing tension in the region on the sidelines of Munich Security Conference (MSC), Alawi said, “We keep contacts with the United States and Iran as part of our relations with the two countries. We feel that it is possible for the two to engage in dialogue. We work to ease tension in the region and we do not expect the occurrence of any military confrontation in the region at present.”

The Ministry’s official twitter account quoted Bin Alawi as saying: “Some have a right to feel anxious about the escalation of tension in the region,” adding that Iran is a “great country and a neighbour, and if we regulate our interests, that would give us a feeling of peace.”

Alawi pointed out that the massive presence of military vessels in the Strait might lead to the occurrence of any mistakes and increase tension. He called upon friends to consider the present risks to the security of navigation.

“There are a lot of military ships in the Hormuz (area) and our concern is there could be a mistake,” bin Alawi was quoted by Reuters.

The Strait of Hormuz is between Iran and Oman, with 33 km width at its narrowest point, and is the conduit for some 30 percent of all crude and other oil liquids traded by sea.

Friction between Iran and the West had led several nations to send task forces to guard shipping there, and Washington has blamed Tehran for attacks on international merchant vessels in or near the area, something Tehran denies.



Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 30 Palestinians since Monday night, Palestinian media and medics said on Tuesday, as the Israeli army tightened its siege on northern areas of the enclave.

An airstrike damaged two houses in the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, where the army has carried out new operations since Oct. 5, and killed at least 20 people late on Monday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA and Hamas media said.

The Gaza health ministry did not immediately confirm the toll. Four other people were killed in the central Gazan town of Al-Zawayda around midnight on Monday, medics said.

Palestinian health officials said six people had also been killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and Deir Al-Balah in the central area of the narrow enclave.

The Israeli military said, without giving details, that its forces had "eliminated terrorists" in the central Gaza Strip and Jabalia area. Israeli troops had also located weapons and explosives over the past day in the southern Rafah area, where "terrorist infrastructure sites" had been eliminated, it said.

Palestinians said the new attacks and Israeli orders for people to evacuate were aimed at emptying two northern Gaza towns and a refugee camp to create buffer zones.

Israel says its forces have killed hundreds of Palestinian gunmen and dismantled military infrastructure in Jabalia in the past month.

More than 43,300 Palestinians have been killed in more than a year of war in Gaza, the authorities in Gaza say, and much of the territory has been reduced to ruins.

The war began after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.