The Houthi group said that on Sunday it took an Israeli ship to the shores of Yemen, and the Israeli army considered the incident “extremely dangerous globally,” while the Israeli Prime Minister described it as an “Iranian terrorist act.”
A leader of the group told Al Jazeera, “Our taking the ship is a victory for our oppressed people in Gaza.”
The military spokesman for the Houthis, Yahya Saree, announced – Sunday evening – that their naval forces carried out what he called a military operation in the Red Sea, “the results of which were the seizure of an Israeli ship and taking it to the Yemeni coast.”
Saree said – in a video statement published on his account on the Or ships owned by Israelis.
The military spokesman for the Houthis pointed out that “this comes out of religious, humanitarian and moral responsibility towards the oppressed Palestinian people, and the siege they are subjected to and the continuation of horrific and hideous massacres by the Israeli enemy.”
Very dangerous
For its part, the Israeli army said that the hijacking of the cargo ship by the Houthis near Yemen, south of the Red Sea, “is a very dangerous event globally,” explaining that “the hijacked ship left Turkey on its way to India with an international civilian crew and no Israelis, and it is not Israeli.”
The Israeli Prime Minister described the hijacking of the ship as an Iranian terrorist act, noting that “the hijacking of the ship will create international repercussions related to the security of global shipping lanes.”
She added, “Monitoring a new Iranian terrorist act is considered a major escalation against the citizens of the free world,” she said.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that the Israeli authorities confirmed that the ship detained in the Red Sea belongs to an Israeli businessman, while the “Axios” website quoted an Israeli source that the Houthis attacked a ship partially owned by an Israeli company and took control of it.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that Tel Aviv was investigating the Houthis’ seizure of an Israeli cargo ship in the Red Sea, at a time when the Walla website reported from an Israeli official that the Houthis had attacked a cargo ship partly owned by an Israeli company, and that there were no Israelis on board.
The Associated Press quoted American officials as confirming that the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader ship by landing from a helicopter today.
The “Marine Traffic” website also published pictures showing the path of the ship “Galaxy Leader”, which Israel says was kidnapped by the Houthis off the coast of Yemen.
Previous threats
Earlier, the military spokesman for the Houthi group, Yahya Saree, said, “The group will target all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies, or that fly the Israeli flag,” calling on all countries of the world to withdraw their citizens working on the crews of these ships and avoid shipping on board or dealing with them. .
Sarie added – via the group’s Telegram channel – that this comes “out of religious, national and moral responsibility, and in view of the brutal Israeli-American aggression that the Gaza Strip is being exposed to, with daily massacres and genocide.”
Last Tuesday, the Houthis announced the launch of a batch of ballistic missiles against targets inside Israel. The group’s leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, also threatened to target Israeli ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
