Yemen's naval blockade forces closure of Israel's only Red Sea port
Iran Press TV
Wednesday, 16 July 2025 6:07 PM
Israel says its only Red Sea port in Eilat will shut down next week, as a deepening debt crisis—triggered by a months-long naval blockade by Yemen's Ansarullah movement—brings the strategic facility to a standstill.
The regime's Ports and Shipping Authority said in a statement Wednesday that the port will permanently close on July 20.
Authorities acknowledged that the crippling blockade by Yemeni forces has effectively paralyzed operations at Eilat, once a key hub for maritime trade.
"Due to the shutdown of the Port of Eilat and its deteriorating financial situation amid the ongoing crisis, the Eilat Municipality has notified port management of the seizure of all bank accounts over unpaid debts," Israel's National Emergency Authority said in a memo.
"As a result, the Shipping and Ports Authority announced that the port will cease all operations starting this Sunday."
Local media described the move as "a dramatic step" that could severely undermine Israel's maritime logistics in the Red Sea.
Situated at Israel's southernmost tip, the Port of Eilat has long functioned as a vital alternative to the Suez Canal. But since late last year, after Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement imposed a naval blockade in response to Israel's war on Gaza, commercial activity at the port has come to a halt.
Shortly after the Gaza war began in November 2023, Ansarullah enforced a blockade on key maritime routes—the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea—aimed at disrupting military shipments to Israel.
Yemeni forces have since stepped up drone and missile attacks on Israeli and commercial vessels, vowing that operations will not stop until Israel ends its devastating war on Gaza.
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