Dramatic video showed Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels hijacking what they saw was a cargo ship linked to Israel in the Red Sea on Sunday, but Israeli officials insist the ship has no ties to the country.
Armed fighters rappelled onto the deck of the Bahamian-flagged Galaxy Leader vehicle carrier from a helicopter and quickly held the 25 crew members at gunpoint, footage released Monday by the Houthi television station Al showed. Masirah.
Their entry was strikingly similar to the method used by Iranian forces during ship seizures in the Strait of Hormuz, the Times of Israel noted.
One of the rebels could be heard shouting what sounded like the Houthi slogan as he walked along the deck.
The act is the first official entry into a foreign war by the Houthis, who were designated as a terrorist group by the United States until February 2021.
The seizure is believed to have taken place about 90 miles off the coast of the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, while the Galaxy Leader was en route from Turkey to India, according to the British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations.
Armed Houthi rebels boarded the Galaxy Leader on Sunday. Houthi Movement via Getty Images
“All ships belonging to or dealing with the Israeli enemy will become legitimate targets. [until the bombardment of the Gaza Strip ends]”the Houthis said about the kidnapping.
Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthi’s chief negotiator and spokesman, also said in an online statement that the Israeli government only responded to the “language of force.”
“The detention of the Israeli ship is a practical step that demonstrates the seriousness of the Yemeni armed forces in fighting the naval battle, regardless of its costs and costs,” he said.
“This is the beginning.”
The 25 crew members were held at gunpoint and taken hostage. Houthi movement via Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called the kidnapping an “act of Iranian terror,” while the Israeli military called it a “very serious incident with global consequences.”
Israeli officials also insisted that the Galaxy Leader was actually British-owned and Japanese-operated, although public shipping database records seen by The Post showed that the ship’s owners are linked to Ray Car Carriers, founded by Israeli billionaire Abraham “Rami” Ungar. .
Ungar declined to comment on the incident to The Associated Press, saying he was waiting for more information.
The ship’s operator, Japan-based NYK Line, said the ship had no cargo on board at the time of the hijacking.
The rebels rappelled to the deck from a helicopter.ANSARULLAH MEDIA CENTER/AFP via Getty Images
Its crew members are from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico, NYK said.
On Monday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government would do everything in its power to secure the crew’s release through negotiations with the Houthi rebels.
Japan will also communicate with Israel and cooperate with the governments of Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia during the process, he added.
At the time of the initial announcement, the Houthi rebels said they were treating the Galaxy Leader crew “in accordance with their Islamic values,” but did not explain what that entailed.
A photograph later showed the Galaxy Leader escorted by Houthi ships.via REUTERS
The captain and first officer of the Galaxy Leader are both from Bulgaria, authorities confirmed Monday.
“No one has sought contact with us up to this point,” the country’s top police official, Zhivko Kotzev, told reporters, adding that authorities were in contact with the victims’ families.
The Houthis have repeatedly threatened Israeli ships off the Yemeni coast in recent years, said Yemen expert Gregory D. Johnsen.
The rebels attacked the ship from the air, according to the video.via REUTERS
The attacks are beneficial to the group’s benefactors in Tehran and also raise its profile within Yemen, he explained.
Red Sea trade routes have become increasingly tense since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7.
At least twice in the last month, US warships stationed in the area have intercepted Yemeni missiles or drones believed to be aimed at Israel or US ships.
With postal cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn