TEHRAN – Amid Israel’s assault on Gaza, few foresaw Yemen emerging as a significant player in this conflict. The involvement of Ansar Allah in Yemen presents various analyses and considerations, particularly in terms of economics.
Effectively, Ansar Allah has opened a third economic battleground against Israel. The first pertains to Gaza, where Tel Aviv mobilized 360,000 reserve forces, prompting tens of thousands to flee southern Israel. The second front involves Hezbollah’s activities in northern Israel, significantly impacting the region’s economy.
These dual fronts have imposed substantial economic costs on the regime. Official Israeli sources admit a 15 percent shrinkage in the economy over the past three months. Tourism has plummeted, retail has declined, and unemployment spiked to about 10 percent, a stark contrast to the sub-4 percent rate the month before October. Tehran Times published this report last week.
Ansar Allah initiated an economic campaign against the regime in foreign trade, marking the third front. Seizing the Galaxy Leader less than a month ago signaled the start. Their recent declaration implies targeting not only Israeli ships but all commercial vessels moving between Israeli ports and others, raising concerns.
Multiple container ship attacks in the Red Sea have closed Eilat port, forcing ships to navigate around Africa to reach Israeli ports, and inflating travel time and costs. These assaults also elevate insurance expenses for ships heading to Israel, further straining its economy.
The Red Sea route is pivotal for Israel’s economy. The status quo increasingly burdens them. Urgent directives to Israeli ports to erase ship-related data from their sites and proposals like unloading goods in Port Said, Egypt, for smaller ships’ transfer to Israeli ports, underscore their predicament.
However, they lack practical military solutions against Ansar Allah.
Israel’s strategy pivots on internationalizing the issue, projecting Yemen’s actions as threats to Red Sea trade security, and pressuring others for a resolution.
Despite American involvement, Yemen’s revolutionary authorities reaffirm their support for Palestine’s oppressed. Their solution remains clear: halting Gaza’s massacre and aiding the besieged with vital supplies.
Ansar Allah’s resistance extends beyond economic warfare, as their missile and drone attacks on Israel demonstrate. Yemen’s bold actions have unsettled Islamic nations, highlighting their inaction against Israel’s aggression despite possessing considerable leverage.
