According to the London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, senior officials in the Egyptian government have turned to Yemen's Houthi rebel group demanding that they reduce their attacks on vessels sailing the Red Sea, and instead focus their attacks only on Israeli vessels.
According to the report, officials sources in Cairo offered the Houthis to focus their activities solely on vessels bound for Israel or which have ties to Israelis.
The Houthis refused the proposal, the report said.
Egypt's attempts to engage the Houthis follow a steep loss of income from Red Sea transit compared to the same period last year: According to Egyptian television, income from transit fees through the Suez Canal has dropped 40% compared to the same period last year, and ship traffic between January 1-11 was 30% lower than during the same period in 2023.
