A maritime chokepoint is becoming a strategic weapon.
The Israeli military analyst, Doron Kadosh, underscores the scale of what is at stake:
Bab al-Mandab is a critical artery linking Asian trade with Europe.
If shipping is forced to bypass the Red Sea and sail around Africa, the alternative route adds roughly 3,000 km and up to 15 days at sea.
That means higher fuel costs, longer supply chains, greater insurance exposure, and mounting pressure on global energy and commodity markets.
The strategic significance goes beyond Israel.
Bab al-Mandab connects the maritime system linking the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Suez Canal and European markets, while also serving as the maritime gateway to Israel’s Eilat port.
The intelligence takeaway:
If Yemen can sustain the ability to disrupt this corridor, it does not need to defeat a major navy conventionally.
It only needs to make the route too dangerous or too expensive to use.
Alongside the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab becomes a pressure point capable of turning a regional confrontation into a global economic and energy crisis.