Houthi attacks strip the port of Eilat of all its revenues
The Israeli port is suffering from an almost total paralysis due to more than two years of disruption to shipping routes to the Red Sea, attacks on vessels, and ongoing geopolitical instability.
A Hebrew newspaper revealed on Monday evening that the Israeli port of Eilat, located on the Red Sea, is facing a “historic crisis” as a result of attacks carried out by Yemen’s Houthi movement over the past two years. The report notes that the port’s revenues have fallen to nearly zero, while Israel considers the Iran-aligned group a major threat, viewing it as Tehran’s most capable ally in terms of directly targeting Israel.
Yedioth Ahronoth stated that “the port of Eilat, long regarded as a strategic southern pillar of the State of Israel, is enduring the most severe crisis in its history due to Houthi attacks.”
Over the course of two years of Israel’s war on Gaza, the Houthi movement launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, attacked Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea, and imposed a maritime blockade on commercial ships associated with Israel.
In response, the Israeli army carried out extensive airstrikes on Yemeni ports, particularly Hodeidah, as well as on positions of the Iran-backed group in several cities, including the capital, Sanaa.
The newspaper explained that the port “is experiencing an almost complete shutdown as a result of more than two years of disruption to Red Sea shipping lanes, attacks on vessels, and geopolitical turbulence,” noting that “port workers arrive every morning to empty docks, ready to work, but no ships arrive.”
The port’s revenues, which previously amounted to around 240 million shekels annually (76 million dollars), have dropped to nearly zero, while state assistance to revive the port has reached only 15 million shekels (approximately 5 million dollars), according to the same source.
According to the newspaper, the Ministries of Finance and Transport recently announced that they would not extend the port’s operating concession, citing its failure to meet the required conditions.
The port intends to pursue legal action against this decision and has called on the state to reverse its stance. The report adds that since November 2023, when the Houthis seized a vessel en route to Israel, “the port’s activities have come to a complete halt.”
The newspaper noted that “this crisis struck the port of Eilat after a record-breaking year in 2023, when nearly 150,000 vehicles had passed through the port by October, with expectations of an additional 15,000 vehicles.”
It continued: “On October 7, 2023, the state spoke of Eilat port providing assistance to the other threatened ports of Haifa and Ashdod. However, the Houthis, whose intervention no one had anticipated, overturned the balance and succeeded in paralyzing the southern port.”
With US support, Israel launched a war of mass destruction on Gaza on October 8, 2023, which lasted for two years and resulted in more than 71,000 Palestinian deaths and over 171,000 injuries, most of them women and children.
A first phase of a ceasefire began on October 10, 2025, based on a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. Nevertheless, Israel violates it on a daily basis, leading to the deaths of 442 Palestinians and injuries to 1,236 others.
Israel also severely restricts the entry of food, medicines, medical supplies and shelter materials into Gaza, where approximately 2.4 million Palestinians are living in dire humanitarian conditions.
