Red Sea Shipping, Yemen, and Israel

https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ports-logistics/attacks-on-red-sea-shipping-bankrupt-israeli-port

https://themedialine.org/top-stories/eilat-still-shipless-houthis-strangle-port-city/

This is a story that has received little attention and it's noteworthy because it actually represents one area in which Israel has suffered economic harm from its wars - this even as Assad's rule over Syria collapses, Hezbollah is broken, Gaza is in ruins, and Iran is cowering, and more than fifty thousand have died. Yemen is the one exception, the holdout that continues to defy Israel and its American ally.

Though Yemen has suffered through more than a decade of war and hundreds of thousands of deaths as a result of the US-sponsored Saudi campaign, the Houthis remain undeterred even as they are engaged in battles with both Israel and the US Navy in the Red Sea.

They have no hope of victory - in fact there's no way it can even be defined. They simply keep fighting with the empty hope that the US will leave the Red Sea and Israel will cease and desist its war against the Palestinians and Hezbollah.

Israel's port of Eilat - it's sole port on the Red Sea has been economically broken. This isn't to say it can't recover after the fighting stops, but at present it is completely shut down. Eilat is at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and thus a different arm of the Red Sea from the Gulf of Suez - where the canal runs. The canal is still open but most of its traffic has also been diverted around the Cape of Good Hope - at increased costs in both fuel and time.

The bankruptcy of the Eilat Port and the failure of the US-led coalition to shut down Houthi attacks represents something of an embarrassment and the commentary is interesting - some suggesting that the US is having to re-think the nature of this kind of combat as well as its logistics as the navy is using up a great deal of ammunition. Some even suggest the US is caught in an unsustainable and very expensive operation - with no exit plan and no hope of resolution. Terms like 'overstretch' are being used and there is a suggestion that the US is limiting its engagement due to fears of escalation and the resulting costs and need for more ships and troops. The Houthis have not managed to sink any ships in the US coalition but they have been hitting commercial traffic, particularly those ships bound for Israel. The US task force has not been able to stop this and clearly there are some in the hierarchy expressing frustration.

The US has used B-2's to strike Houthi arms depots and the F-35C (the naval carrier variant) has seen action for the first time. As such the 'Red Sea Crisis' is also being used as test theatre for thinking about battles on the Black Sea or the Taiwan Strait. You can be sure both Moscow and Beijing are taking notes - all the more if the commentary regarding America's failure is credible.

The coverage regarding the Red Sea is remarkably light given that it's one of the places where US troops are actually in harm's way and in episodes of combat. The Houthis are (I'm sure) determined to hit and sink a US vessel. Their hope would be that the attention would generate doubt among the US public. Of course it could lead to a real intensification as well. Russia would be thrilled but it's uncertain whether or not the Houthi movement could endure a sustained heavy campaign waged against them. One thing is certain, as Lebanon stabilizes, and Gazan resistance fades - and as Syria falls, the IDF is likely to concentrate and intensify its attacks on Houthi targets. The Middle Eastern War that began over a year ago continues to shift and expand.