They followed President Biden, who sat in on Israel’s War Cabinet back in October.

At 11 weeks, it is the longest campaign in a century of Arab-Israeli conflict.

And with the death toll in Gaza surpassing 20,000 (including 7,000 armed Hamas members), it’s also the deadliest for civilians.

This extraordinary US involvement reflects the recognition that the conflict could easily become regional — if not extend across the entire planet.

“The Israel-Hamas war exposes the delicate equilibrium of our hyper-globalized world,” wrote MarketWatch columnist Jurica Dujmovic just after the Hamas attack.

Here are many of the key reasons how — and why — that delicate equilibrium could be upended in 2024.

The militant Iran-backed Shiite Houthis have emerged as unlikely players in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

They control much of Yemen and can block Red Sea access to the Suez Canal, through which some 30% of global container trade passes.

The Houthis have fired at ships linked to over 35 countries, and forced the American, British and French to shoot down drones and missiles from the sky — nearly 20 in just one day this past week.

This pesky business has spooked major shipping companies, who have rerouted their ships around Africa, adding weeks (and costs) to their journeys.

Traffic through the Red Sea has dropped by about a third, a disaster for Egypt, which depends on Suez Canal transit fees for as much as one-fourth of its foreign currency earnings.

With 20% of Suez traffic comprised of oil, ongoing Houthi aggression will almost certainly see crude prices rise in 2024 as Egypt slaps on a new 15% fee for tanker traffic.

It would also imperil industries reliant on just-in-time manufacturing for crucial components and raw materials, such as auto- and electronics-makers.

With 20% of Suez traffic comprised of oil, ongoing Houthi aggression will almost certainly see crude prices rise in 2024 as Egypt slaps on a new 15% fee for tanker traffic.

Chinese car-makers already predict weaker global sales next year, which they’d hoped would offset a nagging domestic slump.

Beyond the immediate costs of the Houthi escalation, its trade disruptions could hit the world economy hard in 2024.

In late December, for instance, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated that global growth would increase at its slowest rate since the pandemic.

It is hard to overstate the danger of Hezbollah, which like the Houthis, are a proxy of Iran.

Given the weakness of the Lebanese state — the country possesses neither a president nor military chief — Hezbollah has become a militia with a country.

The group’s initial low-level shelling of Israel surged this past week with dozens of rockets fired daily.

Despite the provocations, Israel remains leery of a full-scale war on its northern front — especially as clashes with Palestinians boil over in the West Bank.