Port of Umm al-Rashrash Nears Official Bankruptcy Due to Yemeni Blockade

The port of Umm al-Rashrash, known by the Israeli occupation as “Eilat” on the southern Red Sea, is heading towards officially declaring bankruptcy due to the blockade imposed by Yemen.

“Eilat” is one of the key ports for the Israeli entity, but its activity has decreased by 85 percent as a result of the naval blockade enforced by Yemeni Armed Forces on Israeli shipping routes, in support of the Palestinian people and their steadfast resistance.

The specialized transport and maritime shipping site World Cargo News reported on Saturday that the economic impact of Yemeni forces’ strikes on ships linked to the Israeli entity in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden has led to this significant decrease in activity. The port requested financial aid from the Israeli government months ago.

The report added: “Despite a brief uptick in activity in the fourth quarter of 2022, the port has seen no activity or revenue for the past eight months,” according to CEO Gideon Golbert, who testified before the Knesset’s Economic Affairs Committee on July 7.

In November 2023, Yemeni Armed Forces began targeting Israeli ships, or vessels linked to Israel, in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and as far as the Mediterranean, using missiles and drones. 

Yemeni forces’ strikes are in solidarity with Gaza and in response to the ongoing siege and genocide since October 7, 2023, as well as the aggression led by the United States and the United Kingdom against Yemen.

Israeli brutal two-front aggression has killed at least 42,000 people in the Gaza Strip and 2,141 others in Lebanon so far.

Over the same period, the usurping regime has also assassinated several resistance leaders, including Hamas’s political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.