Three years after global pandemic devastation, 'World War III' threat looms large

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a staggering loss of human life on a global scale and presented an unprecedented challenge to public health. The pivotal question when COVID hit the world in early 2020 was if the global landscape was whether humanity is prepared to confront another pandemic-like threat. By September 2021, there were over 4.6 million reported deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, with the situation constantly evolving with an increase in the death toll.

The pandemic not only affected mankind but posed a significant threat to various sectors of society and the global economy. From healthcare to education, travel to technology, and manufacturing to supply chains, virtually all sectors have been significantly impacted by the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have struggled to adapt to the unprecedented circumstances and have faced various degrees of disruption. 

But a critical question that has arisen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is whether the world is adequately prepared to confront another global challenge of such a magnitude. By the time, the pandemic was slowly brought under control in late 2021 and early 2022, war clouds were looming large over Ukraine. Soon, Russia attacked Ukraine over what it alleged what NATO's eastward expansion and threat.

Even as the Ukraine-Russia war continues, Israel faced a dastardly attack by the Hamas terror group and consequently launched its counter. With the threat of the Israel-Hamas war having the potential to spill over into a bigger conflict, veteran investor Ray Dalio sees a 50 per cent chance of World War III.

The Israel-Hamas clash threatens to spark other bloody battles and it's now a question about if a world war including the US and China can break out, Ray Dalio has said.

'Pre-hot-war to brutal World War III'

"In my opinion, this war has a high risk of leading to several other conflicts of different types in several places, and it is likely to have harmful effects that will extend beyond those in Israel and Gaza," the veteran investor and a financial historian wrote in a LinkedIn post on Thursday titled "Another Step Toward International War."

"Primarily for those reasons, it appears to me that the odds of transitioning from the contained conflicts to a more uncontained hot world war that includes the major powers have risen from 35% to about 50% over the last two years," he added. Dalio is the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates which is the world's largest hedge fund and the widely renowned author of “Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail.”

For several years, Dalio has been sounding alarm on rising tensions within and between the countries. In his latest remarks, he said that the US and China were on the brink of a so-called hot war, and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war could lead the nations to exchange blows on the military front. 

As many as 2,200 Israelis and Palestinians have been killed since Hamas militants launched a surprise attack over the weekend on October 7, infiltrating Israeli towns and villages near the heavily fortified border with the Gaza Strip. Several foreigners from the United States and other countries are also among those killed, injured or kidnapped by the Hamas militants. Several countries including the US, UK, and India, among others, have expressed solidarity with the Israelis and condemned the Hamas attack. Significantly, Russia and China have refused to condemn Hamas's atrocity.  

Israel's foreign ministry said it expressed "deep disappointment" in a call with the Chinese envoy to the Middle East over China's lack of condemnation of Hamas's weekend attack. "The ambassador expressed Israel's deep disappointment with Chinese announcements and statements about the recent events in the south, where there was no clear and unequivocal condemnation of the terrible massacre committed by the terrorist organization Hamas against innocent civilians and the abduction of dozens of them to Gaza," the statement said.