The Israeli attack causes major damage to the facilities of the port of Hodeidah.. Will it affect its activity?

The Zionist enemy launched an intense bombardment on the ports of Hodeidah two days ago, targeting bridge cranes used in handling containers in the port of Hodeidah, in addition to destroying most of the main oil tanks in the port that contain tens of thousands of tons of fuel.

According to local sources, the Israeli bombing completely and partially destroyed 17 tanks in the port of Hodeidah, which constitute most of the main fuel tanks in which shipments of imported fuel are collected before distributing them in the Yemeni market. The bombing also hit part of the electricity station in Al-Kudaib.

Footage published by Yemeni activists showing images of the bombing targeting two cranes in the port and then targeting fuel tanks a few seconds later. The occupation army published pictures of targeting equipment in the port of Hodeidah.

Despite the destruction that befell the vital institution, the leader of the Houthi militia, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, downplayed the effects of the Israeli bombing, which caused large fires that continue to this day, and described it as only a show.

Destruction in the port of Hodeidah

A Yemeni businessman said on Monday morning that the cranes of Hodeidah Port were severely damaged and one of the cranes fell into the sea. Satellite images showed massive destruction in the port of Hodeidah.

He added that most importers have transferred their container reservations from the port of Hodeidah to the port of Aden, including those who have containers on shipping routes.

The Red Sea Ports Corporation, which is controlled by the Houthis, admitted that the raids led to significant damage to the port of Hodeidah, affecting cranes and bridge cranes in it, in addition to damage to the sixth and seventh berths, in addition to energy storage facilities.

The corporation that operates Hodeidah Port claimed that its services continue to receive all ships and provide food, medicine, and oil derivatives, without clarifying where the oil derivative ships will be unloaded.

The Houthi Foundation called on the United Nations and its affiliated organizations to assume their responsibilities towards what it describes as "threats and violations, and to protect port services." It also called on the United Nations and international organizations to provide bridge cranes and destructive equipment in the port.

The Red Sea Foundation returned and published another news about a visit by the Minister of Transport and the Governor of Hodeidah to the (unrecognized) Houthi authorities, in which they admitted that the sixth and seventh berths, and the bridge cranes and cranes in those two berths, were damaged.

Confusion about the death toll

Following the Israeli raids, Nasr al-Din Amer, editor-in-chief of the Houthi Saba Agency and deputy head of the Houthi Media Authority, denied that there were any deaths from the Israeli bombing on the ports of Hodeidah, but the oil company mourned late Sunday, more than 24 hours after the attack, six workers.

For its part, the Red Sea Ports Corporation said that a number of its employees were killed without specifying a specific number, in addition to missing persons who have not yet been found.

The Ministry of Health in the Houthi government (which is not recognized) also said in the latest statistics that the raids resulted in the killing of six people, the injury of 83 others, and the loss of three others.

Meanwhile, local sources say that the number of deaths is higher than announced, confirming that a number burned to death after being trapped for six hours without the Houthis being able to rescue them.

Fuel crisis

Immediately after the news of the Zionist attacks on the oil facilities in the port of Hodeidah circulated, thousands of citizens in Houthi-controlled areas rushed to stations in several governorates, and long queues formed to fill fuel, extending for several hours, despite statements issued by the Houthi Oil Company, the Houthi Gas Company, and the Houthi Ministry of Commerce stating stability. Fuel, and there was no crisis, despite the attacks that some observers estimate destroyed and wasted up to 150 thousand tons of fuel in the destroyed tanks in the port.

Figures published by Yemeni activists show a significant decline in Houthi fuel imports during the period from May 1 to July 20, the date of the Israeli bombing of Hodeidah ports.

Figures indicate that Al-Houthi imported more than one million and 190 thousand tons of gas during the first of January until the 30th of last April, but it only imported up to 240 thousand tons of gas between the first of May and the 20th of July, with a decrease rate of up to 79% compared to the period. The first of this year.

Its oil imports also decreased from three million three hundred thousand tons in the first four months of this year to 720 thousand tons between May and July 20, a decrease rate of up to 78%. The situation of diesel fuel was no better than gas and petroleum, as imports decreased from three million tons in the first four months of this year to 480 thousand tons in the last three months, a decrease rate of up to 84%.

The lack of import quantities during the past months was exacerbated by the massive destruction of the company’s tanks in the port of Hodeidah. Although the port of Ras Issa in Al-Salif, north of Hodeidah, also did not suffer any damage, its oil storage facilities, according to experts, are not sufficient to cover the deficit resulting from the destruction of the tanks in the port of Hodeidah.

A source at the Safer Oil Company, which was managing the Ras Issa tanks, said that the oil tanks there cannot constitute a substitute for the tanks that were destroyed in the port of Hodeidah, as a result of their small size, which is not comparable to the tanks in the port of Hodeidah, indicating that the tanks in Ras Issa originally belonged to the businessman. Alissa.

Stop publishing about ship movement

For the second day in a row, the Houthi militia stopped the movement of ships and unloading in the port of Hodeidah. There were at least 5 ships in the port of Hodeidah on Wednesday, and 10 other ships were waiting in the draft to enter the berth, according to the Regional Center for Maritime Information Exchange, which is run by the Houthi militia.

The center published ship movement data on Saturday and Sunday in Al-Salif Port and Ras Issa in Hodeidah Governorate, approximately 50 kilometers north of Hodeidah Port.

While the Houthi militia claimed that ship movement in Hodeidah port was operating at maximum capacity normally, according to what was published by the Houthi Saba Agency about Houthi leaders managing the three ports in Hodeidah. It did not publish about the movement of ships in the port of Hodeidah, and the Houthi militia did not explain this contradiction in its statements with the current reality in the port.

An informed source said that the port is completely out of service, and that the ships will leave the port of Hodeidah and will not remain there. While another local source said that the port returned to service on Sunday morning, via second-generation ships carrying their own cranes and loading cranes on board.

The General Federation of Chambers of Commerce said in a statement that the catastrophic results of the bombing of the port of Hodeidah on the Yemeni people are the responsibility of the Zionist occupation, in a clear indication that the bombing has a severe impact on the movement of trade through the ports of Hodeidah.