Israel's Red Sea port of Eilat halts operations due to Yemeni-Houthi blockade
's southern port of
Eilat
suspended operations on Sunday due to heavy debts and unpaid taxes caused by a dramatic decline in shipping triggered by the
Yemeni-Houthi
blockade of the
Red Sea
.
This is seen by observers as a victory for the Houthis and a rare defeat for Israel. The port was built between 1952-56 and opened for traffic in 1957. It accounted for 5-7 per cent of Israeli maritime trade, contributed to the local economy, attracted tourists, and assumed a security function for southern Israel.
During the first 10 months of 2023, the port serviced 134 ships. About 150,000 vehicles were imported from China which normally provides 50 per cent of cars entering Israel. Crude oil was imported at Eilat and piped to Ashkelon for refining. Potash, fertilisers, and minerals were exported through Eilat.
In November, the Houthis began attacks on Israeli, United States and British cargo vessels docking at Eilat and firing missiles and drones at Eilat city to pressure Tel Aviv to agree to a ceasefire or end the Gaza war. This was launched after the October 7th, 2023, attack by Hamas which – according to Israel – killed 1,200 and abducted 150 in southern Israel.
By that December, Eilat shipping had fallen by 85 per cent and in March 2024 half the port staff were suspended although salaries have been paid. Throughout that year, 16 ships docked at Eilat while by mid-May this year, only six ships had arrived at the port. Its commercial closure could adversely affect the Israeli navy which has a base at Eilat that operates patrol boats providing security for the Eilat naval shipyard.
In June, the Israeli government provided a $4 million (€3.4 million) emergency grant, but this was not enough to cover Eilat's debts and ensure operations. The privatised Eilat Port Company has accumulated more than $8.5 million in debt to service providers, with financial obligations reportedly exceeding $8.5 million. The Eilat municipality last week froze $3 million in the port's bank accounts to pay tax arrears.
Houthi attacks have compelled big shipping companies, including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, to reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa, boosting costs by 30-40 per cent for goods bound for Mediterranean ports.
Transit time has increased by seven to 10 days. Insurance premiums for ships which continue to ply the Red Sea route have increased by 300-400 per cent. Although Houthi attacks have diminished and the Israeli navy has offered to protect ships, owners argue the route remains too risky.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bob Geldof in furious Gaza rant as he shouts 'shut up' in live interview
Sir Bob Geldof has revealed that footage of malnourished youngsters in Gaza "enrages" him whilst condemning the UK Government for failing to take sufficient action. The Band Aid founder accused Israel's administration of "lying" about the absence of "no famine caused by Israel", declaring: "They're dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers." During an impassioned Sky News interview, an incensed Sir Bob questioned how Britain could develop a cutting-edge supercomputer this month whilst infants in Gaza were forced to survive on mere teaspoons of salt and minimal water supplies, demanding: "Shut up. What have we become that we can do this miracle and perpetuate this agony?". He also criticised the UK administration, claiming they had achieved "not enough". Sir Bob dismissed the idea that recognising Palestinian statehood - something Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure to do - would make any "difference" to the humanitarian crisis, reports the Mirror. Palestinian Yezen Abu Ful, 2, whose health has deteriorated due to lack of access to food and nutritional supplements. (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images) A charity organization distributed food to Palestinians facing severe difficulties accessing basic necessities due to Israel's ongoing blockade and military operations in the Gaza Strip on July 24, 2025. (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images) He urged Labour MPs to cease signing correspondence calling for recognition, branding it a form of "virtue signalling" at this stage, stating: "Enough. Guys, focus on the issue to hand." The political activist emphasised that the most urgent matter is to prevent starving mothers and infants from being exploited as "instruments of war". Regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, he stated: "I'm really not interested in what either of these sides are saying. When you target infants and children, when their wounds are no longer capable of healing, when breastfeeding mothers can no longer do this, then everything goes out the window." Sir Bob expressed his views on the situation in Gaza, suggesting that Israelis who disagree with their government's actions should take direct action: "What's unfair is what's happening to these babies.... What's unfair is that one hour from the hunger, people are sitting down to their unthreatened dinners to turn on the next Netflix show." He boldly proposed a solution for Israeli protesters: "So if Israelis want to protest, get in your cars. This is very bold stuff, I know, sorry about that. Get in your car, stuff your cars full of food and drive through that border and let your own army stop you." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Irish Examiner
12 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Israel to pause fighting in three Gaza areas as concerns over hunger surge
The Israeli military said it would pause fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day and open secure routes for aid delivery to desperate Palestinians. The steps are meant to address a surge in hunger in the territory as Israel faces a wave of international criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war. The military said it would begin a 'tactical pause' in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas of the territory with large populations, to 'increase the scale of humanitarian aid' entering the territory. Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) The pause would begin every day at 10am to 8pm local time until further notice, beginning from Sunday. The military also said that it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food. Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule. Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including by close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned. Israel said the new measures were taking place while it continues its offensive against Hamas in other areas. The local pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt. On Friday, Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with the militant group. After ending the latest ceasefire in March, Israel cut off the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other supplies completely to Gaza for two and a half months, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages. Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. People take part in a protest outside the US Embassy in Tel Aviv demanding the end of the war and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas (Mahmoud Illean/AP) Since then, it has allowed around 4,500 trucks for the UN and other aid groups in to distribute. The average of 69 trucks a day, however, is far below the 500 to 600 trucks a day the UN says are needed for Gaza. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of it from its arriving trucks. As a way to divert aid delivery away from the UN, Israel has backed the US-registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which in May opened four centres distributing boxes of food supplies. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food, mostly near those new aid sites, the UN human rights office says. Israel has railed against the UN throughout the war, saying that its system allowed Hamas to steal aid, without providing evidence. The UN denies that claim and says its delivery mechanism was the best way to bring aid to Palestinians. The military said the new steps were made in co-ordination with the UN and other humanitarian groups. Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP) Much of Gaza's population, squeezed by fighting into ever tinier patches of land, now relies on aid. The war began with Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, when militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Irish Independent
15 hours ago
- Irish Independent
The Sunday Independent's View: Children of Gaza need more than just empty gestures
Trump's tariffs. The National Development Plan. The presidential election. All pale into insignificance next to the hell endured by innocent Palestinians caught up in the 21st century's most brutal conflict, with no respite or hope of escape. Israel suffered abominably in the October 7 massacre two years ago. Seeking to destroy Hamas was a legitimate response. The medieval cruelties being inflicted on Gaza with high-tech efficiency have, however, gone far beyond self-defence. To even call it a war any more is an abhorrent abuse of language and decency. Given the industrial scale of the horrors unfolding before the world's eyes, yesterday's announcement by the Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Harris, that the Government is open to holding a national day of solidarity for Gaza might seem like an irrelevant sideshow. There is already an International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which has been observed annually on November 29 since it was instigated by the United Nations in 1977. Coming on foot of continuing efforts to pass the Occupied Territories Bill — which will inflict little economic damage on Israel, while leaving Ireland vulnerable to revenge by Washington — a national day of solidarity might even be said to conform to an unfortunate tendency in Irish life to make grand gestures that have little real-life benefits, but only serve to make us feel smugly virtuous, as if our being on the right side of history will be any consolation to the dead. Symbolic acts do matter, all the same, and more so if, as Harris hopes, 'many countries did it together'. He has promised to speak to colleagues 'on how to make this happen'. Will there even be a Palestine to recognise if Israel continues its campaign? For young people watching it play out in real time on the screens of their smartphones, the world must seem like a terrifying place right now. Last week, Ireland joined other countries in implementing strict new age verification rules aimed at preventing children seeing porn online, as well as other violent or harmful content. It is not before time. For too long, social media companies and others neglected the responsibility to police their platforms. They lost the right to self-regulate. Collective action was inevitable. Sparing children from the sight of other psychologically dangerous content on the internet will prove more difficult. How can they have the security young people need if they see their elders turning their backs on what is happening in Gaza? Present generations always wondered why the mass murders of the 20th century were allowed to happen on their forebears' watch. Future generations will ask the same question of us. It only brings home the surreal inanity of the diplomatic row that broke out in recent days after France pledged to become the first major western power to recognise the state of Palestine. The US and Israel both condemned the move as a 'surrender to terrorism'. The real question is whether there will soon be a Palestine to recognise if Israel continues its campaign. Piles of rubble and dead bodies do not make a viable state, no more than international days of solidarity have ever saved a single life.
