Yemeni attacks cost port of Eilat 50 million shekels: CEO
3 Min Read
Gideon Golber, the CEO of the port of Eilat, reveals that the management is set to lay off several workers as a result of financial losses instigated by the attacks of the Yemeni Armed Forces.
-
An Israeli Saar-6 corvette is seen in waters in Eilat, occupied Palestine, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP)
The loss resulting from the port of Eilat's disruption as a result of the operations of the Yemeni Armed Forces amounted to approximately 50 million shekels (13,680,805 dollars), highlighted Gideon Golber, the port's CEO, as cited by Israeli media.
Golber also revealed the operational management's readiness to lay off several workers this week.
The Israeli official had previously urged the government during a meeting of the Knesset's Economic Affairs Committee to provide financial assistance to the port of Eilat, separate from loans that would require repayment later.
"The port has been non-operational for eight months due to attacks, meaning it has no revenue," he stressed.
Golber called for immediate government intervention, stressing that the port's closure was not due to mismanagement but because coalition countries in the Red Sea "have lost control over it."
He also mentioned that the Committee deliberated on the port of Eilat's situation, acknowledging that Yemen has effectively blocked shipping to it.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesperson of the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF), announced on Sunday that the YAF carried out a top-tier military operation against significant targets in Umm al-Rashrash [Eilat] with a number of ballistic missiles, achieving its declared goals successfully.
The operation follows another major one that the YAF carried out Friday against an Israeli important site in the occupied Palestinian city of Yafa [Tel Aviv] with a drone that evaded Israeli air defenses, which prompted "Israel" to launch on Saturday evening a series of airstrikes on an oil storage facility in the port city of Hodeidah, killing three people and injuring 87 others, according to the Yemeni Ministry of Health.
Following the Israeli aggression, Saree reiterated that occupied Yafa is an unsafe zone and that a response to the Israeli aggression on civilian facilities in the Yemeni coastal province of Hodeidah is undoubtedly coming.
The spokesperson emphasized that the YAF "will not hesitate" to strike vital Israeli targets in the Israeli entity and that operations in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza will not stop regardless of the consequences.
He also made it clear that the Yemeni people "are preparing for a long war with this enemy [Israel] until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted and the crimes committed by the Israeli enemy against the Palestinian people in Gaza are over."
In this context, the Israeli Channel 12 reported heightened concerns of a Yemeni response following the Israeli aggression on Hodeidah. The channel noted that the Israeli Air Force is on high alert across the occupied territories.
Additionally, the Israel Hayom news website said the Israeli Navy has increased its alert level in the Eilat area.
Read more: 'Eilat' port CEO labels it non-functional due to Yemeni strikes
