The Port of Eilat in southern Israel plans to dismiss half of its employees this week because it cannot protect vessels’ leisure from Houthi’s constant attacks in the Red Sea, said the head of the port Gideon Golber on Sunday.
Golber said in the Israeli daily Maariv that Eilat Port which is a strategic port through which Israel carries out most of its imports and exports through the Far East, Australia, and Africa had to cease all its operations. Ships cannot reach Eilat or pass through the Suez Canal to Europe anymore, thus, stopping the port and its revenues made from that.
Due to these main financial losses, the port plans to discharge half of its employees this week. At the moment, this port serves approximately one hundred twenty people. Media sources such as Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper put the losses incurred at the port to be at about 50 million shekels (Approximately 13. 61 Million US dollars).
The Houthis have been mainly attacking the vessels that belong to Israel either by ownership, registration, chartering, or destined for Israel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. These attacks are retaliation to the Israeli attack in Gaza that commenced on 7th October 2023 and has led to approximately thirty-nine thousand people being killed.