TEL AVIV (Dispatches) -- Yemen’s armed forces have advanced rapidly against Saudi-backed mercenaries along the Red Sea coast and consolidated control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, raising concerns in Israeli occupied territories over the prolonged closure of the port of Eilat, Israeli media reported.
The port has been almost completely shut for nearly three years, a consequence of Yemeni retaliatory attacks launched in support of Palestinians after Israel’s war in Gaza. 
In July, Sana’a announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in response to the Saudi-led coalition’s years-long siege of Yemen.
“Even before the threat to Saudi oil routes prompted Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman to seek U.S. assistance, the Houthis had already registered a significant strategic achievement against Israel by almost completely disrupting regular commercial shipping to the Port of Eilat,” Israel’s Jerusalem Post reported, referring to Yemen’s Ansarullah movement.
Israeli media has repeatedly highlighted the impact of Yemen’s pro-Gaza operations on Eilat and the illegal entity’s economy. In its January 2026 report, Yedioth Ahronoth said port revenues, which previously reached about $74 million a year, had dropped to almost zero.
The report said no Israeli cabinet decision has defined restoring shipping at the port as a “security and diplomatic objective.” 
It described Yemeni control of Bab al-Mandab as an “urgent strategic issue” for both Saudi Arabia and Israel, adding that it allows Yemeni forces to monitor movements and enhance targeting of vessels.
“Israel and Saudi Arabia now have parallel diplomatic and strategic interests concerning the same maritime route,” it said, suggesting Saudi Arabia’s predicament creates an opportunity to harness a regional effort around Bab al-Mandab to restore shipping to Eilat.
For nearly a decade, the Saudi-led coalition has enforced a land, sea and air blockade on Yemen, which the United Nations has repeatedly described as a primary driver of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. 
The siege has targeted Yemen’s ability to import food, fuel and medicine while attempting to plunder its oil and gas resources.
Using asymmetric naval capabilities, including drones and missiles, Yemen has shifted from a defensive posture to an active pressure campaign aimed at imposing economic and military costs on Saudi Arabia until the siege is lifted, the war ends and Yemen’s full sovereignty is restored.