Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Sunday they had seized a commercial ship owned by an Israeli businessman in the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel’s war against their Palestinian allies Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The announcement comes days after Iranian-backed rebels threatened to target Israeli ships in this strategic sea between northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, due to Israel’s war against Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A threat exclusively to Israeli ships
“The naval forces of the Yemeni armed forces carried out a military operation in the Red Sea, the result of which was the seizure of an Israeli ship and its transfer to the Yemeni coast,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said. on the social network
The Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen at war, only threaten “the ships of the Israeli entity and those belonging to Israelis”, argued their military spokesperson, stressing that the crew was treated “in accordance with to the teachings and values of our Islamic religion”
“Domiciliated in Israel”
According to the maritime security company Ambrey, the car carrier is owned by Ray Car Carriers, a company controlled by Israeli businessman Abraham Rami Ungar, “domiciled in Israel”. In 2021, a ship belonging to Rami Ungar, the MV Helios Ray, flying the flag of the Bahamas, was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman in a context of increased tensions between Israel and Iran.
According to the specialist site Tradwinds, the company Ray Car Carriers is registered in Great Britain, and the ship is operated by Nippon Yusen (NYK), a Japanese shipping company. This company confirmed in a press release on Monday that a cargo ship it had chartered, the Galaxy Leader, had indeed been “captured” while it was sailing near the Yemeni coast with 25 crew members on board. And the Japanese government “firmly” condemned the capture of this ship, while specifying that no Japanese national was on board.
According to the specialist site Marine Traffic, the Galaxy Leader, which also flies the flag of the Bahamas, was sailing off the Saudi port city of Jeddah, in the Red Sea, when its radar signals were cut off on Saturday. A maritime source from the port of Hodeida (west), controlled by the Yemeni rebels, indicated for his part that “the Houthis seized a commercial ship and took it to the port of Al-Salif in Hodeida”.
Iran’s “aggression”
On the Israeli side, the army indicated that this ship had on board “civilians of various nationalities, but no Israelis”. “This is not an Israeli ship,” she stressed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “strongly condemned the Iranian attack on an international ship”, which he described as “an aggression” against the “free world” with consequences “on the security of global sea lanes”.
“The ship, which is owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese company, was hijacked under the direction of Iran by the Yemeni Houthi militia,” added Benjamin Netanyahu, specifying that 25 crew members from various nationalities – Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino and Mexican – were on board but “no Israelis”. A US military source described the seizure of the “Galaxy Leader car transporter” by the “Houthi rebels” as a “blatant violation of international law”. According to this source, Washington will contact its allies and the UN to gauge “appropriate” measures.
Tracking and “Camouflage”
In recent weeks, Houthi rebels have launched several drones and missiles towards Israeli territory. “The fact that eight waves of missiles and drones launched by the Houthis from Yemen failed to hit their targets in Israeli territory may have pushed (the rebels) to focus again on the Red Sea,” he said. declared to AFP Mohammed Al-Basha, Middle East specialist at the American analysis center Navanti Group.
“We have our eyes open to constantly monitor and search for any Israeli vessel,” said Houthi leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi in a speech on their Al-Massira channel, threatening to “target” them.