Hebrew newspaper: The “Houthis” succeeded exceptionally in achieving their goal of closing the Eilat Port

The Israeli enemy entity acknowledged the effects of the closure imposed by the Sana’a forces on the strategic southern maritime gateway of the entity, the “port of Eilat,” and admitted that this siege has caused great waves of tension and serious economic repercussions.

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The Maariv newspaper said that the economic consequences of the port’s closure are causing waves of tension in the city of Eilat and the surrounding areas, stressing that the heavy transport sector in the south of the entity is suffering great damage as a result of the port stopping work.

The newspaper’s report confirmed that those it called the Houthis succeeded exceptionally in achieving their goal of closing the port of Eilat, explaining that the port’s activity has declined by up to 90% since October 2023, and the US and the Israeli enemy entity have failed to find an effective solution so far.

The report added that the port’s bank accounts are threatened with seizure due to the accumulation of taxes, which portends a final closure in the near future.

The newspaper indicated that the losses have begun to extend to other sectors, where reports have indicated that the heavy transport industry in the south has reported significant damage, including employment, equipment, and cash flows for local companies.

The newspaper quoted Gabi Ben Harush, the head of the Truck Drivers Union, as saying that hundreds of drivers from Beersheba and the south of the entity are now unemployed and cannot move to other areas to work due to the distance and their place of residence.

Ben Harush explained that these drivers represented an important source of income in the civilian and military economy and that dozens of new trucks are currently idle, causing direct damage to transport companies estimated at about 150 million shekels, or the equivalent of about $45 million, annually.

He also confirmed that the activity of transport companies in the south has decreased by 35%, and dozens of companies have completely stopped working, and many drivers have been granted compulsory or unpaid leave, which represents an additional loss estimated at about 50 million shekels annually.

Ben Harush mentioned that the phosphate transport sector has become almost at a standstill, as about five hundred trucks were dependent on it, operated by about 1,500 drivers, mostly from the south and Eilat, and today they are all out of service.

He warned that the direct and indirect economic damage resulting from the closure of the port reaches hundreds of millions of shekels annually, including the suspension of equipment, loss of workforce, and disruption of revenues, stressing that the continued closure of the port of Eilat poses a great danger not only on the security level but also on the economic level for the entire entity.