Israel’s Eilat port to dismiss half of its workforce
The port of Eilat in southern Israel plans to lay off half of its workers this week due to Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, its chief executive officer has said.
“Eilat Port is Israel’s southern gateway to the Far East, Australia and Africa,” Gideon Golber told Israeli daily Maariv.
“All activity stopped because ships could no longer pass in any direction to reach Eilat Port or travel towards Europe through the Suez Canal. Therefore, the port halted its operations and income stopped,” he added.
Golber said the port would lay off 50 percent of its workers this week due to economic losses. Currently, approximately 120 people are employed at the port.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles towards Israel and at Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in a show of support for Palestinians amid Israel’s war on Gaza.
Saudi Arabia calls for ‘maximum restraint’ after Israeli attacks in Yemen
Reacting to the Israeli attacks on Hodeidah, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has said in a statement it is following developments “with great concern”.
It called on “all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to distance the region and its people from the dangers of war”.
Its statement also called on the “international community and influential parties to fulfill their responsibilities to end conflicts in the region”.
#Statement | The Foreign Ministry is following with great concern the developments of the military escalation in Yemen after the Israeli attacks in Al Hudaydah, which aggravates the current tension in the region and halts the ongoing efforts to end the war on Gaza. pic.twitter.com/WMMJVMewnS
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) July 21, 2024
