News – Middle East: According to recent Hebrew reports, container movement in the occupied Palestinian ports has decreased by 25 percent in recent months due to restrictions imposed by the Yemeni Armed Forces on ships linked to the Zionist enemy, heading towards the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Marker, a Hebrew economic newspaper affiliated with the Haaretz group, published a report a few days ago stating that "container movement in Israeli ports in January 2024 recorded a sharp decline compared to January 2023. This year, it reached 203,000 containers, while the previous year it was 269,000 containers, a decrease of about a quarter of the movement, or 25 percent."

The report confirms that "container movement in the occupied Palestinian ports in December of last year experienced the same decline compared to the previous December." It adds that "Haifa port also witnessed a decrease in container movement, and the shipments that were unloaded there are the ones that were supposed to reach the ports of Ashdod and Eilat, which the ships no longer reach."

The newspaper states that the cause of what it called the "port crisis" is the Yemeni attacks in the Red Sea, which "led many shipping companies in early December to avoid crossing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and sail around Africa to reach Israel. By doing so, the companies have expanded their routes and significantly increased maritime transportation costs in the best of circumstances. In the worst-case scenario, the ships that were supposed to reach the port of Eilat, especially those carrying cars from the East, no longer reach the port at all, rendering it inactive."

The newspaper quotes Yoram Ze'evi, the head of the shipping chamber in the occupying entity, as saying that "the ships coming from the Far East arrived several weeks late, and instead of arriving in December, they arrived in January." He added that "the situation will continue like this until shipping companies recruit more ships to strengthen their lines, all because of the 'Houthis' who caused significant damage to the Suez Canal and led to the closure of the port of Eilat."

The head of the shipping chamber in the Zionist entity confirmed that "this matter will not end soon," indicating that the situation has reached a new level after a "large British ship was hit by a missile and began to sink," referring to the targeting of the British ship "Rubiemar" in the Gulf of Aden.

He added that the US-UK alliance has failed to overcome the Yemeni threat, despite the difference in capabilities and influence.

The newspaper quoted Gideon Golber, the CEO of the Eilat Port, as saying, "I expect that the state of Israel will look towards the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to solve the problem of the Eilat Port. There should not be a situation where shipping lanes are closed, and we rely on the world to find a solution."

On the other hand, Calcalist, a Hebrew economic website, revealed a sharp decrease in car imports to the Zionist entity due to the Yemeni ban imposed on ships heading to the occupied Palestinian ports.

The website stated in a report published earlier this week that the Yemeni operations in the Red Sea "have caused damage to the sales of all car importers, as the rate of arrival of cars produced in the East has decreased."

It explained that as a result, there was a 42% decrease in Mazda car deliveries in January, with a total of 2,676 vehicles compared to 4,615 cars that arrived in January of the previous year.

The CEO of the port has stated more than once that "port activity has almost completely stopped, and all its revenues came from car shipments that are no longer able to reach it due to the Yemeni ban."

The statements were confirmed by data from navigation tracking websites, as the port only received two ships in December and January.

The CEO of the Ashdod Port confirmed last week in statements published by Port2Port, a Hebrew website specialized in transportation affairs, that "90 percent of the ships now arrive via the African route," referring to the sailing path around the Cape of Good Hope, which ships heading to the Zionist entity must take to avoid the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This confirms the statements of the Leader of the Revolution, Sayyed Abdulmalik Badreddin al-Houthi, about the complete halt of Zionist navigation through Bab el-Mandeb.

The decrease in container movement in the enemy's ports and the shortage of imports are linked to several impacts revealed by many official and journalistic Hebrew reports during the past period, including the increase in prices of goods and commodities by more than 40 percent.

Earlier, the Zionist Ministry of Economy revealed that the Yemeni operations in the Red Sea have threatened 25 percent of consumer goods imports and more than 21 percent of raw material imports.