Updated Assessment as of December 2023
In November and December 2023 an assessment of the Gaza Public Health Capacity for Warehousing and Logistics was led by World Food Programme (WFP)’s partners in-country in partnership with local and regional JSI and HELP Logistics support and coordination. Please find the assessment at this link: Gaza Logistics Assessment (12/23)
Seaports
The Port of Ashdod - just 40 km from Tel Aviv, it is the closest to the country's major commercial centres and highways. Ashdod Port has been operating since 1965 and is one of the few ports in the world built on open sea.
The Port of Haifa - the Port of Haifa is the largest of Israel's three major international seaports, which include the Port of Ashdod, and the Port of Eilat. It has a natural deep-water harbour which operates all year long and serves both passenger and cargo ships. The Port of Haifa lies to the north of Haifa's Downtown quarter at the Mediterranean and stretches to some 3 km along the city's central shore with activities ranging from military, industrial and commercial aside to a nowadays passenger cruising facility.
The Port of Eilat - the Port of Eilat is the only Israeli port on the Red Sea, located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. It has significant economic and strategic importance. The Port of Eilat was opened in 1957 and is today mainly used for trading with Far East countries as it allows Israeli shipping to reach the Indian Ocean without having to sail through the Suez Canal.
International airports
There are two international airports operational in Israel, managed by the Israel Airports Authority. Ben Gurion Airport serves as the main entrance and exit airport in and out of Israel. Ramon Airport being the second largest airport serves as the primary diversion airport for Ben Gurion Airport.
Road and Rail Transport
Roads - Transportation in Israel is based mainly on private motor vehicles and bus service and an expanding railway network. All facets of transportation in Israel are under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety.
Israel's road network spans 18,096 km (11,244 mi) of roads of which 449 km (279 mi) are classified as freeways. The network spans the whole country.
Route 6, the Trans Israel Highway, starts just east of Haifa down to the outskirts of Beer Sheva, about 200 km (120 mi). Route 1 between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and Route 2 between Tel Aviv and Haifa are well maintained highways.
Rail - Israel Railways corporation Ltd., dba Israel Railways, is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. All its lines are standard gauge.
Light rail/subway- The 13-kilometre-long Jerusalem Light Rail system began operation in August 2011 and is being extended. The construction of the Tel Aviv Light Rail and the Tel Aviv Metro, serving Tel Aviv and surrounding cities, in underway and the first line, the Red Line, is set to open in 2023.[12] A significant portion of it will be underground.
Haifa's Carmelit, an underground funicular railway, is currently the only subway line in Israel. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the shortest subway system in the world, being the second smallest track network (after the Tünel in Istanbul,) but being the smallest "system" by virtue of being the only urban rail network in the city. The Haifa–Nazareth railway, a planned light rail system from Haifa to Nazareth, is planned to open in 2025, and a light rail system in Beersheba is currently planned.
Beginning in the mid-1960s, railway development stagnated, and a number of lines (notably, the Jezreel Valley railway and most of the Eastern railway) were abandoned altogether. Development restarted in the 1990s, the opening of Tel Aviv's Ayalon railway in 1993 signaling a new era of rail development. Lines include the high-speed railway to Jerusalem, an extension of the coastal railway directly from Tel Aviv to Ashdod through the north and a line from Ashkelon to Beersheba via Sderot, Netivot and Ofakim, as well as a complete reconstruction of the line from Lod to Beersheba. These and other extensive infrastructure improvements led to a 20-fold increase in the number of passengers served by Israel Railways between 1990 and 2021.
Excluding light rail, the network consists of 1,384 km (860 mi) of track and is undergoing constant expansion. All the lines are standard gauge and as of 2016 the heavy rail network is in the initial stages of an electrification programme.
The government of Israel, believing that freight rail transport in the country is underutilized, particularly with respect to container transport, has set a goal of doubling the amount of freight transported by rail by the middle of the 2010s decade and tripling it by the end of the decade. Its plan calls for an upgrade of the freight transport infrastructure, including more freight terminals, new or renewed sidings to factories and other customers, and the purchase of additional freight locomotives and freight cars. From an administrative perspective, Israel Railways' freight division will be spun off into a separate subsidiary, which will be 51% privately owned by a strategic partner committed to maximizing the railway's freight transport potential. The new subsidiary will be allowed to partner directly with other transport providers in the private sector to offer customers more cost-effective, flexible and complete transport and logistical solutions than those currently offered by Israel Railways.
Source pages: Wikipedia (publisher)
