Yemen’s Houthi group, Iran-backed rebels, seized a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea region and said they were taking the ship to a port in Yemen.
“We treated the crew in accordance with Islamic principles and values,” the group’s military spokesman said in a statement. The group said the ship was an Israeli vessel.
The Israeli military said on Sunday (19/11) that the cargo ship was hijacked in the southern region of the Red Sea while sailing from Turkey to India. This hijacking raises concerns that regional tensions related to the Israel-Hamas war will spill over into the maritime sector.
In a post on social media, the Israeli military called the hijacking a “very serious incident on a global level,” but said the ship was not Israeli.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the ship was British-owned and Japanese-operated, and was carrying 25 crew members of different nationalities but not Israelis.
A spokesman for the Houthi group said early Sunday that all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies, or carrying Israeli flags could be targeted.
Ownership details according to a public shipping database link ownership of the ship to Ray Car Carriers, founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar, known as one of the richest men in Israel.
Ungar told The Associated Press that he was aware of the incident but could not comment because he was still waiting for details.
A ship linked to Ungar experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman. Israeli media at that time blamed Iran.
Netanyahu’s office condemned the seizure of the Galaxy Leader, a transport ship, calling it “another act of Iranian terrorism that reflects Iran’s blatant disregard for the citizens of the free world and its international implications for the security of global shipping routes.”
According to US officials, the hijackers descended onto the ship’s deck from a helicopter.
The attack off the coast of Yemen came just days after the Houthis issued a graphic with text in Hebrew, Arabic and English that read, “we will sink your ships.” The image shows an Israeli commercial ship on fire.
On November 16, the International Maritime Security Construct, an international group that seeks to maintain security in regional waters, issued a warning to all seafarers in the Red Sea Route and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between Yemen and Djibouti to avoid Yemeni waters as much as possible and recommend travel whenever possible. at night.
A United States (US) Defense official said, “we are aware of this situation and monitoring it closely.” (my/hour)