Port of Eilat to shut down permanently after Houthi attacks cripple operations

Last month, authorities approved a 15 million-shekel ($4.5 million) emergency grant for the port, designated a “strategic national asset,” but the funding proved insufficient to restore normal operations.

By Jewish Breaking News

Crippling debt and a collapsed revenue stream following the October 7 Hamas massacres, caused by Houthi attacks, will force Israel’s Port of Eilat to close permanently tomorrow.

Established in 1952 and operational since 1957, Eilat port served as Israel’s southern gateway for trade with Asia, East Africa, and Australia.

Located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, adjacent to Jordan and Egypt, the facility handled roughly half of Israel’s vehicle imports and provided dedicated terminals for potash and phosphate exports.

For 21 months, the Houthis have been declaring a naval blockade on vessels bound for Israel or linked to the Jewish state and even managed to strike the port itself back in September, killing two people.

Shipping companies responded by rerouting vessels around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding two to four weeks to delivery times and hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional costs per ship.

Ship arrivals fell from 134 to just 64, and by May, only six vessels had docked during the entire year.

As a result, revenue at Israel’s only Red Sea commercial port plunged from 212 million shekels ($63 million) in 2023 to just 42 million shekels ($12.5 million) in 2024.

The Eilat Municipality responded by freezing the port’s bank accounts over approximately 10 million shekels ($3 million) in unpaid taxes, forcing the shutdown.

“Due to the shutdown of the Port of Eilat and its deteriorating financial situation amid the ongoing crisis, the Eilat Municipality has notified port management of the seizure of all bank accounts over unpaid debts,” Israel’s National Emergency Authority said in a statement obtained by Hebrew-language outlet Globes.

“As a result, the Shipping and Ports Authority announced that the port will cease all operations on July 20, 2025.”

Vehicle imports, which generated most of the port’s pre-war profits, dropped from 150,000 cars in 2023 to zero in 2024 after major car importers shifted their operations entirely to Mediterranean ports in Ashdod and Haifa.

Last month, authorities approved a 15 million-shekel ($4.5 million) emergency grant for the port, which was designated a “strategic national asset,” but the funding proved insufficient to restore normal operations.

Israel’s Navy has utilized the port extensively since the October 7 Hamas attacks, and the closure will disrupt logistical support for naval operations in the region.

Operations by the Europe Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC) and mineral exports from ICL’s Dead Sea Works will also face disruption.