Middle East: Yemen’s latest maritime escalation has shifted from Eilat to Haifa. In this city, Israeli settlers now feel as though they’re sitting beside a barrel of explosives, ready to ignite at any moment. A looming nightmare akin to the Beirut port explosion or the Bandar Abbas port disaster grips Haifa’s residents.

This looming catastrophe, now haunting both the city and the port, was undoubtedly a calculated part of Yemen’s strategic escalation. The announcement by Yemen’s Armed Forces of a naval blockade on the enemy’s primary port — in addition to a ban on its main airport — signals further erosion of Israel’s security apparatus.

The most dangerous aspect of the Haifa port blockade is not just its economic, military, and logistical significance to the occupying entity — it’s the fact that the port rests on a massive powder keg that could turn into a real catastrophe, doubling Haifa’s fear and insecurity.

The Significance of Haifa Port

Haifa Port is far more than a maritime logistics hub on the Mediterranean — it is the most vital artery for Israel’s trade, military logistics, and maritime operations. It serves as a crucial entry point for oil and goods as part of Israel’s supply network.

Operating year-round, the port is described as the “gateway” to Israeli commerce, handling over 30 million tons of cargo annually and accounting for more than 35 percent of Israel’s imports and exports. This includes oil, raw materials, industrial products, grains, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and high-tech equipment.

Beyond its critical commercial function, the port also plays a key role in Israel’s so-called “national security.” It hosts major factories and companies, many linked to hazardous chemical and petroleum industries. It is home to petrochemical plants, ammonia and methanol storage, and fertilizer-related chemicals, along with oil tanks and refineries — putting Haifa’s residents in constant fear of living atop a ticking time bomb.

Moreover, the port contains nuclear and non-conventional weaponry. The eastern side houses the "Polonium" naval base, home to submarines capable of launching nuclear warheads.

Haifa Port also includes a shipyard for building and equipping military vessels with combat, technical, and logistical systems.

Consequences of Yemeni Blockade

Given this context, what does Yemen’s declaration of a naval blockade on Haifa Port mean for Israel?

With the port now under a Yemeni blockade, it’s clear that this move — if sustained — could eventually paralyze maritime trade from Europe via the Mediterranean, including goods that previously flowed through the occupied Port of Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat). The outcome will depend on Yemen’s ability to monitor and track activity at Haifa Port through intelligence efforts. With adequate information, Yemen could severely disrupt shipping traffic in and out of the port.

This would paralyze import and export operations at both the old and new Haifa ports, increase insurance and shipping costs, and erode international investor confidence in the stability of Israel’s critical infrastructure. It would also apply more pressure on the already embattled Israeli government, which is facing profound security, military, and political challenges.

Ultimately, this move indicates that Yemen is driving a shift in regional power dynamics, establishing a new balance of deterrence — one that Yemen did not resort to lightly. It came only after Israel’s insistence on continuing its bloodshed in Gaza as part of an ongoing campaign of genocide that has raged since October 7, 2023 — and continues to this day.

Translated by Almasirah English website