A Hebrew Newspaper: The Gaza agreement will not end the Eilat Port crisis and the Yemeni blockade
The Hebrew economic newspaper “Calcalist” stated that the atmosphere of optimism following the Gaza ceasefire agreement is not reflected in the situation of the Eilat port, which has been closed for nearly two years due to the naval blockade imposed by the Sana’a forces, indicating that the agreement will likely not lead to the resumption of the port’s activity.
Follow-ups – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:
The newspaper added in a report that “the celebrations over the end of the war do not change much in the reality of the Eilat port, which is going through a suffocating crisis; the port reduced most of its activities in November 2023, except for military services, and is facing severe financial distress despite government aid that reached 15 million shekels, in addition to support from the Histadrut, without these allocations helping it resume its normal operations.”
“Calcalist” explained that “the Yemeni missile threat has led to global shipping companies refraining from heading to the Eilat port, resulting in the halt of vehicle shipment unloading, which is one of the most profitable sectors for the port.”
The newspaper also pointed out that “even if the Yemenis commit to a ceasefire in support of the Palestinians, they still control the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait and prevent the passage of ships heading to the Israeli port.”
The report added that “Yemen controls a strategic maritime passage and has no incentive to abandon it, especially since this file was not included in the terms of the Gaza agreement, given that Sana’a was not involved in the negotiations.”
The newspaper concluded by saying, “The only likely scenario for the port’s activity to return is the stabilization of the security situation on Israel’s borders, which might push the government to address the Yemeni file directly, as it did with Iran in Operation (Rising Lion), and only then might the sea route be reopened for the movement of ships and goods towards Eilat.”