News - Middle East: Gideon Golber, the Director-General of the occupied Port of Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat), has stated that the damage inflicted on the port due to Yemeni military operations remains severe and visibly apparent, despite announced ceasefires.

In statements to Hebrew-language media on Monday, Golber highlighted the profound crisis facing one of "Israel's" key Red Sea ports. He clarified that the security tensions have nearly halted import traffic, noting that "many ships have chosen to bypass the occupied territories entirely," which has severely impacted the port's activity.

The Director-General emphasized the urgent need to achieve what he termed a "victory picture" by fully resuming port operations. This, he stated, requires a return to the shipping traffic levels seen before the outbreak of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation on October 7, 2023, citing the previous arrivals of Chinese ships as an example.

"Before the war, Chinese ships were arriving here," Golber said, adding, "and today they must return. We need a victory picture by restarting the port."

Golber concluded his remarks by expressing pessimism about an imminent resolution to the economic crisis facing "Israel". He criticized what he perceived as a lack of tangible solutions despite numerous official statements, indicating that the port's crisis persists with no apparent practical plan on the horizon to end the standstill.

Since the escalation of genocide in Gaza, Yemeni naval and missile operations have increasingly targeted vessels linked to the Zionist entity or its partners in the Red Sea corridor. 

Analysts note that developments in the Red Sea reflect a substantive shift in maritime deterrence: Yemen’s naval campaign has translated battlefield leverage into economic pressure, compelling the Zionist entity to absorb costs for alternative routes and to seek emergency logistical fixes. The blockade, they say, forces the adversary to pay an economic price for its aggression and siege of Gaza — a burden borne this time through commerce rather than only by military means.