Cargo ship is ‘hijacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels’ within the Red Sea’
Houthi rebels from Yemen have hijacked a cargo ship with up 22 crew members within the Red Sea in a ‘grave incident on a world degree’.
The Bahaman-flagged ‘Galaxy Leader’ was boarded by armed males because it travelled south previous the Arabian peninsula on its solution to India.
The ship is registered underneath a British firm which is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar, and is at present leased out to a Japanese firm, in line with experiences.
It got here hours after the Iranian-backed Houthi militia – which has fought a bloody civil conflict towards the Yemeni authorities for the reason that Nineties – vowed to focus on ships linked to Israel within the Red Sea in retaliation for the Jewish state’s response to the October 7 assaults.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have confirmed there are not any Israeli residents on board and denied the ship was Israeli, however known as it a ‘grave incident’.
The vessel Galaxy Leader has been hijacked by Yemeni Houthi rebels within the Red Sea
According to the newest publicly-available monitoring information, the ship was final seen to the east of Port Sudan on Saturday
In an announcement launched on social media it mentioned: ‘ The hijacking of a cargo ship by the Houthis close to Yemen within the southern Red Sea is a really grave incident of world consequence.
‘The ship departed Turkey on its solution to India, staffed by civilians of assorted nationalities, not together with Israelis. It just isn’t an Israeli ship.’
It is reported that the nationalities on board the ship embrace Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos and Mexicans.
According to publicly-available monitoring information, the ship’s final recognized location was east of Port Sudan within the Red Sea on Saturday.
Last week the chief of the Houthis, an Islamist motion which has fired quite a few missiles in the direction of Israel in latest weeks, warned they might make additional assaults on the Jewish state.
Abdulmalik al-Houthi mentioned: ‘Our eyes are open to consistently monitor and seek for any Israeli ship within the Red Sea, particularly in Bab al-Mandab, and close to Yemeni regional water.’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran for the hijacking, however offered no proof it had been seized on Iranian orders.
In an announcement issued this afternoon, he mentioned ‘We strongly condemn the Iranian assault towards a global ship’, seemingly referring to the Houthis Iranian backing.
Israeli Defence Forces mentioned the hijacking of the ship was a ‘very grave incident of world consequence’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu known as the incident an ‘act of Iranian terrorism’, seemingly linking the nation to the Houthi rebels who hijacked the ship
‘The ship, owned by a British firm and operated by a Japanese firm, was hijacked on Iranian whim by the Houthi militia in Yemen.
‘On board the ship are 25 crew members of various nationalities, together with: Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos and Mexicans.
‘No Israelis had been current on the ship.
‘This is one other act of Iranian terrorism which expresses a leap ahead in Iran’s aggression towards the residents of the free world, and creates worldwide implications concerning the safety of world transport lanes,’ the assertion concluded.
In Yemen, Iran backs and provides the Houthis, a Shiite faction that has been at conflict towards a Saudi-led Sunni coalition within the nation since 2015.
The Houthis have emerged as a serious navy pressure within the Arabian Peninsula, with tens of 1000’s of fighters and an enormous arsenal of ballistic missiles and armed drones.
The motion emerged within the Nineties and has the slogan ‘God is nice, demise to the US, demise to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory for Islam’.
Since the outbreak of the battle between Israel and Hamas following the October 7 terrorist assaults, the Houthis have launched not less than six missile assaults towards Israel and its allies.
