Hi,
The Houthis have stepped a level up in the war and announced they will close Bab-el-Mandeb (basically closing the Red Sea) for ships. At least until the war in Gaza strip will end.
The Houtis had already attacked many cargo ships using Unarmed Aerial Vechiles (UAVs) and missiles (ballistic or sea), cruise missiles, and caputed one of the ships using an helicopter.
As an Israeli, closing the Red Sea for ships sounds familiar. Egypt had closed twice the Straits of Tiran (which lead from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Eilat) for Israeli ships on their way to Eilat port. In both of the times, it led to war: 1956 (Sinai war) and in 1967 (the Six Day war).
But closing Bab-el-Mandeb is not closing the stairs of Tyran. While the second prevents ships from getting to Eilat (and Aqaba), the first prevents ships from getting to Suez Canal. That will affect about 14% of the world trade and 21 billion containers a year.
So far, Maersk, MSC, and Hapag Lloyd have announced they will move their cargo ships to go around The Good Hope Horn* (meaning to go around Africa), what makes the shipping much longer and expensive.
From our point of view, the Houthis have not only closed access to Eilat port for commercial cargo by closing the Red Sea. It also directly launched ballistic missiles and UAV towards Israel, hitting mainly.
While Israel has the ability to strike back at Yemen, it does not seem to happen. At the moment, several battle ships, such as the destroyer HMS Diamond, derstroyer USS Carney, and the French Frigate Languedoc, are securing the Red Sea. And the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier is on its way to join them (accompanied by its ships).
Take Care
Gad
Houthis forces on their way to take over the Galaxy Leader Cargo ship (Source: Houti Media Center/AP)
A route of tracks operated by Trucknet from the Persian Gulf to Haifa Port for cargo (Source: cars.walla.co.il)