Sisi claims that the Egypt Suez Canal loses almost $800 million every month

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt stated on Monday that the regional “situation”—which includes Yemen’s Houthis targeting ships in the Red Sea—has resulted in monthly losses of the Suez Canal’s earnings of almost $800 million.

In support of Palestinians in Gaza during the conflict with Israel, the Iran-backed Houthis have assaulted ships in the Red Sea region since November 2023. This has caused disruptions to international shipping by forcing ships to avoid the adjacent Suez Canal and reroute goods around Africa, which has increased shipping prices.

Although the Houthis were not specifically mentioned in the statement from the Egyptian president, Sisi claimed in December that the disruption cost Egypt almost $7 billion in lost income from the Suez Canal in 2024.

Following fatal U.S. raids on Yemen that killed at least 53 people on Saturday—the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January—the Yemeni group reportedly promised to resume assaulting U.S. warships in the Red Sea.

Additionally, they threatened to relaunch attacks on Israeli ships traversing the Red Sea last week if Israel did not remove a barrier on supplies entering Gaza.