According to the Hebrew-language website Hidabroot, major food manufacturer “Osem-Nestlé” has approved significant price hikes for dozens of products. The site attributed the surge to soaring raw material costs, a direct result of Yemen’s maritime blockade in the Red Sea and, more recently, the Mediterranean, particularly the disruption of operations at the strategic Haifa Port.
In interviews with Al-Masirah, two economic experts underscored that the blockade imposed by Yemen is beginning to paralyze key sectors of the Israeli economy, with direct consequences on daily life for settlers in the occupied territories.
Economist Salim Al-Jaadi explained that the spike in prices for food and services stems from the Yemeni front, noting that raw material costs and production inputs have skyrocketed. He highlighted that shipping costs for raw materials have increased by more than 300 percent, with the cost of a single container rising from $2,500 to $8,500 due to the blockade.
He added that the inflation extends beyond food, impacting essential goods and services throughout the occupied territories. The rerouting of Israeli imports through longer, more expensive routes—via the Cape of Good Hope and through land transit from UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan—has compounded the situation, pushing consumer prices even higher.
Al-Jaadi concluded by noting the weakness of Israel’s economy, which relies on fragile service sectors like banking, technology, and tourism—capital-intensive and high-risk industries that are now under severe strain.
Lebanese economist Hassan Sarour echoed these assessments, emphasizing that Yemen’s disruption of major supply arteries, including the ports of Umm Al-Rashrash and Haifa, has severely impacted Israeli logistics. The resulting shift to longer, costlier trade routes has drained financial resources and driven prices up across the board.
air and naval campaign, noting that the economic pressure has spread to Israel’s backers. “Yemen’s operations have forced the US and the West to intervene militarily, but for the first time, Washington has found itself unable to protect Israel. The cost is too high, and now even Israel’s allies view it as an economic, security, and political burden”.
In conclusion, Sarour said that Yemen’s deterrence has created a new reality: “America and the West can no longer bear the economic fallout of trying to block Yemeni support for Gaza”.
The ongoing inflation inside occupied cities is expected to fuel growing domestic discontent with the Israeli government, deepen economic stagnation, and amplify the multi-layered impact of Yemen’s resistance—intensifying pressure on the Israeli entity from within.
Since late 2023, Yemen has intensified its pressure on Israel by imposing aerial and naval blockades in response to the Gaza war. These actions have disrupted key shipping routes and supply chains, especially through the Red Sea and Haifa Port. As a result, transportation and insurance costs have soared, driving up prices of food and essential goods in Israeli-occupied cities.
Source: AL Masirah
