Latest news with #Eilat
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Israeli military eases restrictions in some parts of country
The Israeli military said public safety guidelines that have mandated school closures, among other restrictions, would ease in some areas from 6pm on Wednesday. Parts of the Israeli occupied-Golan Heights and West Bank, in addition to Israeli communities near Gaza and in Eilat in Israel's south would be changed from "essential activity" to "limited activity" or "partial activity". The changes would be in effect until 8pm on June 20, the military said.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Israeli military eases some safety restrictions
The Israeli military said public safety guidelines that have mandated school closures, among other restrictions, would ease in some areas from 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Parts of the Israeli occupied-Golan Heights and West Bank, in addition to Israeli communities near Gaza and in Eilat in Israel's south would be changed from 'essential activity' to 'limited activity' or 'partial activity.' The changes would be in effect until 8:00 p.m. on June 20, the military said. Developing
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
War insurance costs to Israel soar after Iranian attacks, sources say
LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - War risk insurance premiums for shipments to Israel are as much as three times higher than a week ago as the war between Israel and Iran entered its fifth day, industry sources said on Tuesday. The cost of a seven-day voyage to Israeli ports was quoted between 0.7% and 1.0% of the value of a ship, versus around 0.2% a week ago, they said. War risk premiums to Israel are still below a peak of over 2% in November 2023 that were quoted after a Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and triggered the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Individual underwriters will price risk and rates differently, but this will add tens of thousands of dollars of extra daily costs for every voyage. "Calls specifically to Israel are very much on a case-by-case basis with rates increased to anywhere up to 1% for a 7-day call, dependent on what cargo, ownership and port," David Smith, head of marine with insurance broker McGill and Partners, told Reuters. Israel relies on sea lanes for much of its imports which are shipped to gateways that include the Mediterranean ports of Ashdod, which is close to Gaza in the south, and Haifa in the north, as well as the Red Sea port of Eilat. Israel's Bazan Group shut down its Haifa oil refinery, the country's largest, on June 16 after its power station was damaged in an Iranian attack. Nearly 30 vessels, many general cargo ships, were currently anchored around Haifa's bay, according to MarineTraffic ship tracking data on Tuesday. All port terminals in Haifa were operating normally and remained fully operational, an Israeli source involved in Haifa's port industry said. Many shipping companies are already wary of sailing to Israel due to the higher risk profile. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have said they will attack any Israel-linked vessels despite reaching a ceasefire over U.S. and UK-linked ships in the Red Sea. The militia announced in March a "maritime blockade" on Haifa port in response to Israel's ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
War insurance costs to Israel soar after Iranian attacks, sources say
By Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) -War risk insurance premiums for shipments to Israel are as much as three times higher than a week ago as the war between Israel and Iran entered its fifth day, industry sources said on Tuesday. The cost of a seven-day voyage to Israeli ports was quoted between 0.7% and 1.0% of the value of a ship, versus around 0.2% a week ago, they said. War risk premiums to Israel are still below a peak of over 2% in November 2023 that were quoted after a Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and triggered the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Individual underwriters will price risk and rates differently, but this will add tens of thousands of dollars of extra daily costs for every voyage. "Calls specifically to Israel are very much on a case-by-case basis with rates increased to anywhere up to 1% for a 7-day call, dependent on what cargo, ownership and port," David Smith, head of marine with insurance broker McGill and Partners, told Reuters. Israel relies on sea lanes for much of its imports which are shipped to gateways that include the Mediterranean ports of Ashdod, which is close to Gaza in the south, and Haifa in the north, as well as the Red Sea port of Eilat. Israel's Bazan Group shut down its Haifa oil refinery, the country's largest, on June 16 after its power station was damaged in an Iranian attack. Nearly 30 vessels, many general cargo ships, were currently anchored around Haifa's bay, according to MarineTraffic ship tracking data on Tuesday. All port terminals in Haifa were operating normally and remained fully operational, an Israeli source involved in Haifa's port industry said. Many shipping companies are already wary of sailing to Israel due to the higher risk profile. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have said they will attack any Israel-linked vessels despite reaching a ceasefire over U.S. and UK-linked ships in the Red Sea. The militia announced in March a "maritime blockade" on Haifa port in response to Israel's ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Politics
- Forbes
These Patriot Missiles Are Israel's Trash And Ukraine's Treasure
A Patriot missile launcher is pictured during the "Blue Flag" multinational air defense exercise at ... More the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 8, 2017. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images) MIM-104 Patriot missile air defense missiles previously in Israel's inventory may have reached Ukraine. Kyiv doubtlessly welcomes with open arms any help it can get bolstering its beleaguered air defenses, especially as it faces its heaviest missile and drone bombardments of the war. In Israel's case, its history with the Patriots suggests it's probably more than happy to dispense with them. In an interview published on June 8, Israel's ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, said that ex-Israeli Patriot systems are now in Ukrainian service. 'These are Israeli Patriots that were in service in the early 1990s. We agreed to transfer them to Ukraine,' Brodsky said. 'Unfortunately, not much was said about this… when people claim that Israel didn't provide military aid, that's simply not true.' The Israeli Foreign Ministry swiftly denied Brodsky's comment, stating, 'It is not correct. Israel did not transfer Patriot systems to Ukraine.' From the moment Israel decided to retire its Patriots in 2024, it was clear that Ukraine hoped it would receive at least some of them. By then, Kyiv had received some Patriot systems and already succeeded in shooting down some of Russia's most advanced missiles and aircraft. The Israeli denial was noteworthy in light of a year's worth of reports indicating the contrary. The Wall Street Journal reported in June 2024 that the U.S. and Israel were nearing an agreement to transfer up to eight Patriot systems from Israel's inventory to Ukraine, a move it correctly noted would 'dramatically increase' Ukrainian air defenses. Axios reported in January that the U.S. military had transferred approximately 90 Patriot interceptor missiles from Israel to Poland en route to Ukraine. Furthermore, the New York Times reported in May that an Israel-based Patriot system would be sent to Ukraine following refurbishment. Israel may not want to acknowledge a transfer. The wording of the denial specifies it did not send systems but doesn't mention the interceptor missiles, which Ukraine could fire from its existing Patriot batteries. Consequently, Israel could truthfully say that it gave Ukraine the bullets but not the gun. According to that Axios report, Israel reassured Russia it was 'only returning' a Patriot system to the U.S., not transferring it to Ukraine. A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an Israeli Patriot was returned to the U.S. but also clarified that 'it is not known to us whether it was delivered to Ukraine.' Israel's official denial may indicate it doesn't want any credit for helping beef up Ukrainian air defenses to avoid antagonizing Russia, which recently wanted to stay in Syria to counterbalance Turkey. When Russia's ally Bashar al-Assad was still in power, the Russian military was in a much more powerful strategic position in Syria than today. During those years, Israel invariably said it did not want to risk antagonizing Moscow, with which it had a deconfliction mechanism in Syria permitting it to bomb Iran-linked targets throughout the country, by supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons. It even refused an American request for vintage Hawk missiles it had retired long ago. Now, Israel may be happy to dispense with its Patriots without acknowledgment. Israel noticeably did not use any Patriots during Iran's April and October 2024 missile attacks and the more recent Iranian bombardments that began on June 13, after Israel's Operation Rising Lion against Iran. That's not surprising, considering Israel's Arrow and David's Sling systems are more suitable for intercepting ballistic missiles compared to its older Patriot PAC-2s. Furthermore, Israel's experience during its first major missile attack—during the Persian Gulf War all the way back in 1991—fostered a long-running distaste for the system. America rushed Patriot systems to Israel ahead of that war to help defend against Saddam Hussein's Scud missiles. Washington feared an Israeli retaliation would splinter the coalition, which included many Arab states it had carefully united around the goal of ejecting Iraq from Kuwait. While over 40 Scud missiles hit Tel Aviv and Haifa during the war, an agitated Israel sat tight. Adding insult to injury was the inability of the Patriot interceptors to counter the overwhelming majority of the Scuds, despite widespread reports of its efficiency at the time. The Israeli Air Force concluded after the war that there was 'no evidence of a single successful intercept' with 'circumstantial evidence for one possible intercept' at best. Defense Minister Moshe Arens recalled after the war that the number of Scuds intercepted was 'minuscule and is in fact meaningless.' With some conspicuous exceptions, the Israeli Patriots spent the intervening decades, in the words of one Israeli news outlet, 'mostly gathering dust' and never scoring any intercepts until it shot down a Hamas drone during the 2014 Gaza war. Israeli Patriots saw rare combat in the summer of 2014, just under a quarter century after entering service, when they shot down Hamas drones from Gaza and a Su-24 bomber over the Golan Heights. However, by then, Israel had the Iron Dome in service, and its David's Sling was just three years away from becoming operational. The older Patriots' days in Israeli service were numbered. But its combat-proven efficiencies against drones and Russian-built aircraft in 2014 show, in retrospect, how suited it is for Ukraine at the moment. Since Kyiv launched its daring Spider's Web operation against Russia's strategic bombers on June 1, it has faced no fewer than 1,451 drones from Russia against its cities. Kyiv needs all the help it can get. And even some extra PAC-2s for its existing systems from Israel would go a long way in keeping its critical air defenses online. Given Ukraine's present need and Israel's historical dislike of them, one could hardly find a more clear-cut example of the saying one man's trash is another man's treasure.
