Israel is reportedly using a land route for the transfer of goods from the Persian Gulf through the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Jordan to Israel to bypass the Houthi blockade in the Red Sea.
Since November 2023, the Yemen-based Houthi group stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in the Israel-Gaza war.
The attacks pose significant risks to shipments passing through the crucial sea passage.
Red Sea attacks disrupt the Suez Canal route, causing longer diversions, higher costs, scrambled schedules, and increased fuel burn, affecting the shortest shipping corridor connecting Asia and Europe.
It has prompted shipping companies to search for alternatives.
On January 30, Israeli television Channel 13 reported that the ships make their way to the Persian Gulf, and from there, the goods are transferred to trucks that leave from Dubai, UAE, pass through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and reach the Jordan Bridge in Israel.
It is also revealed a video filmed recently from the land route operations carried out between two shipping companies— Israel-based Trucknet and UAE-based counterpart Puretrans FZCO.
This comes after Trucknet and Puretrans FZCO signed an agreement in December 2023 to set up a “land bridge” between the ports of Dubai and Haifa, the Times of Israel reported.
Since then, a pilot test for a land transport line for trucks from Dubai ports to Israel has been ongoing.
It is reported that both companies claimed a new route would save over 80 percent on freight transportation costs by rerouting commercial ships around Africa to prevent Houthi attacks.
Hanan Fridman, founder and president of Truckn, told JNS that the land route experienced exponential growth following the Houthi attacks, despite initial diplomatic skepticism.
Trucknet is transporting goods like food, plastics, chemicals, and electricals from UAE ports to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Europe, according to Fridman, Bloomberg reported.
Israel-Hamas war
War erupted in the Gaza Strip after Hamas’s October 7 surprise attack that killed 1,200 people and captured 240 hostages, fueled by thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.
In response, Israel committed to eliminate Hamas and launched a massive offensive to eliminate the militant group and governance capabilities.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has reported over 27,000 Palestinians dead in the ongoing offensive, causing international criticism for its increasing death toll.
