TL;DR
Hormuz has been closed since February 28; the Houthis continue to control Bab el-Mandeb; global shipping now faces simultaneous disruption at both ends of the Arabian Peninsula.
MSM Perspective
France24, Al Jazeera, and The Conversation have all published explainers on the Bab el-Mandeb threat; wire coverage remains focused on the ceasefire and strikes.
X Perspective
Shipping and commodity accounts are framing the dual-chokepoint situation as the war's most consequential economic feature, with rerouting costs compounding daily.
JERUSALEM -- The Strait of Hormuz has been closed since February 28. The Houthis continue to control Bab el-Mandeb at the southern end of the Red Sea. Global shipping now faces simultaneous disruption at both of the world's most consequential maritime chokepoints. [1]
Bab el-Mandeb — the "Gate of Tears," 27 kilometers at its narrowest — carries roughly 10 percent of global oil trade. Vessels from Asia to Europe transit Hormuz, then Bab el-Mandeb, then Suez. With Hormuz closed, shipping rerouted south around Africa. The Houthi threat forecloses that alternative. [2]
The Houthis attacked more than 100 commercial vessels in the Red Sea between 2024 and 2025; a Western naval coalition could not stop them then. [3] Western powers could not secure Red Sea shipping when the coalition was active. Hormuz, for which no comparable interdiction force exists, will be harder. [4] The two-chokepoint situation is not a threat — it is the current reality.
-- YOSEF STERN, Jerusalem
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