Israel's Eilat Port has seen an 85% drop in activity since the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen stepped up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the port's chief executive said on Thursday.
Sunrise in marine port of Eilat, Red Sea © Mena Today
Israel's Eilat Port has seen an 85% drop in activity since the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen stepped up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the port's chief executive said on Thursday.
The Houthis are playing an escalating role in the conflict in the Middle East, also firing drones and missiles at Israel in a campaign they say aims to support Palestinians in the Gaza war, where Hamas is also backed by Iran.
Eilat, which primarily handles car imports and potash exports coming from the Dead Sea, pales in size compared to Israel's Mediterranean ports in Haifa and Ashdod which handle most of the country's trade.
It was one of the first ports to be affected as shipping firms rerouted vessels to avoid the Red Sea after the Houthis disrupted a key trade route through the Bab al-Mandab strait.
Without Bab al-Mandab "you close the main shipping artery to Eilat Port. And therefore we lost 85% of total activity", CEO Gideon Golber told Reuters.
The United States has since announced a multi-national security initiative to protect the crucial shipping lane.
During a high-level conference in New York centered on the renewed global push for the recognition of a Palestinian state, Egypt surprised many observers by issuing a clear and firm call for the disarmament of Hamas, the militant organization that rules the Gaza Strip and is widely held responsible for the ongoing conflict with Israel.
Saudi Arabia and France on Tuesday called on countries at the United Nations to support a declaration that outlines "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" towards implementing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Britain will recognise the state of Palestine in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the "appalling situation" in Gaza and meets other conditions, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his cabinet on Tuesday according to a government statement.
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