Oil prices jumped on Monday amid an attack by the radical Palestinian group Hamas on Israel.
The escalating situation in the Middle East poses a risk of a reduction in oil supplies from the region, Market Watch notes.
“Historical analysis shows that oil prices tend to rise steadily in the wake of crises in the Middle East,” said Stephen Innes, managing director of SPI Asset Management.
The cost of December futures for Brent crude oil on the London ICE Futures exchange at 8:15 a.m. on Monday is $87.24 per barrel, which is $2.66 (3.14%) higher than at the close of the previous session. On Friday, the price of these contracts increased by $0.51 (0.6%) to $84.58 per barrel.
Futures for WTI for November in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have risen by $2.84 (3.43%) to $85.63 per barrel by this time. As a result of the previous trading, the value of these contracts increased by $0.48 (0.6%) to $82.79 per barrel.
On Saturday, rocket attacks were launched from the Gaza Strip on the southern and central regions of Israel. Dozens of Palestinian militants on trucks and paragliders infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip.
According to recent reports, the number of people killed in Israel from attacks by fighters of the radical Palestinian group Hamas has exceeded 600, The Times of Israel reported on Sunday. Among the dead are civilians and dozens of police and military personnel. In addition, 2048 people were injured. Israeli authorities believe that Palestinian militants have taken at least a hundred hostages on Israeli territory and taken them to Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Forces announced the launch of Operation Iron Swords in response to large-scale Hamas attacks. The Israeli authorities officially put the country in a state of war.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing informed sources, that Hamas’s current actions against Israel were planned in advance with the assistance of Iran.
If Iran’s involvement is confirmed, the United States may tighten control over compliance with sanctions on oil exports from the country, Market Watch notes.
Last week, Brent fell by 8.3% and WTI by 8.8%.
There is currently no technical possibility to evacuate Ukrainian citizens from Israel, people need to follow the commands coming from the government, said Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk.
“We do not have the technical ability to evacuate people. Therefore, as the president said earlier, and the embassy gave a wide comment on this, people should stay in the safest possible places, listen to the commands coming from the local government and strictly follow them,” he said on the air of the national telethon.
The ambassador noted that there have been appeals from Ukrainians from Israel and Palestine, where about 1,000 Ukrainian citizens are registered with the consulate. Korniychuk added that consuls work in both Palestine and Israel around the clock.
The ambassador suggested that “the Israeli authorities will take control of the situation in the late afternoon.”
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the world to unite to bring to justice the organizers of the terrorist attack on Israel.
“The world must be united and in solidarity so that terror never tries to subjugate or break lives anywhere. Israel’s right to defense is beyond question. All the circumstances of this terrorist attack must be clarified so that the world knows and brings to justice everyone who incited the attack and helped organize it,” Zelensky wrote on his telegram channel.
He expressed confidence that order would be restored and the terrorists would be destroyed.
“Nowhere in the world should terror be given a single chance, because terror is always a crime not just against one country or its specific victims, but against humanity as such and our entire world. Whoever uses terror is committing a crime against the world. Whoever sponsors terror is a crime against the world,” the president emphasized.
Zelenskyy also called on Ukrainian citizens in the danger zone to carefully follow the instructions of the security forces on the ground and closely monitor the information.
“Please take care of yourself! The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and our embassy in Israel are ready to help in any situation. An operational headquarters has been set up to assist Ukrainians in Israel. If you need help, please immediately contact any of our diplomatic or consular missions by any means available to you,” the President said.
The Israeli Health Ministry has sent medicines totaling UAH 100 million to Ukraine as humanitarian aid at the request of the AFU, the Ukrainian Health Ministry said.
“We continue to help Ukraine in this difficult time, so at the request of the Ukrainian side, funds were collected and the transfer of humanitarian aid was organized. We plan further cooperation between our countries,” the agency’s website quoted Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky as saying.
Israel will send several tons of medicines to Ukraine in the coming days at the request of the Ukrainian side, Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky said.
“Today there was a conversation between the health ministers of Israel and Ukraine. In the coming days, at the request of the Ukrainian side, Israel will send several tons of medicines to Ukraine,” Brodsky wrote in his Telegram channel on Monday.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has arrived in Kyiv on a visit. This is the first visit of an Israeli high-ranking official to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
“I have come to say: Israel supports Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in difficult times,” Cohen wrote on his Twitter account.
During his visit, the Israeli foreign minister is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.
Cohen is expected to visit Bucha, Babi Yar and announce the reopening of the Israeli embassy in Kiev, which was closed due to the war.
