NYN | News
The manager of “Eilat” port complained of a complete paralysis affecting the port due to the ban imposed by the Sana’a government forces on Israeli or Israel-related ships since November of last year.
The Hebrew newspaper “Globes” quoted the Eilat port manager saying: “The port is completely closed, and there has been no work for seven months,” adding, “This is not the port’s fault, but the fault of the coalition countries’ weakness in dealing with the Houthis.”
He continued: “There are no solutions, so I am not ashamed to ask customers to pay $100,000 to the Houthis for each ship’s passage, and I will participate in the funding,” mentioning that he “no longer sleeps at night,” and that: “If you have to pay the Egyptians to pass through the Suez Canal, or the Houthis to pass through Bab al-Mandeb,” noting that he is considering “laying off workers because there is no option for severance pay in the collective agreement, but there is an option for dismissal, and we may have no other choice.”
Since late last year, the Sana’a government forces have been announcing strikes on Israeli targets in the occupied Palestinian territories and targeting Israeli and related ships in the Red and Arabian Seas before announcing the extension of their operations to parts of the Indian Ocean. Recently, they announced the beginning of the fourth phase of escalation against ships “even in the Mediterranean” to support Palestinians in Gaza. They affirm that their operations against “Israel” will continue, conditioning the cessation of their military operations “supporting Gaza” on “ending the aggression and lifting the siege on Gaza.”
In response, the US and UK launched airstrikes on Yemen, prompting the Sana’a government forces to announce that their operations would include targeting American and British commercial and military ships in retaliation for what they called “American and British aggression.”
On February 19, 2024, the European Union announced the launch of a military operation named “Aspides,” led by Italy in the Red Sea, while the United States announced the launch of an operation named “Guardian of Prosperity,” both aiming to counter the attacks launched by the Sana’a government forces against “Israel.”
