2023-11-19 16:46:27
According to media reports, the Houthi rebels hijacked a cargo ship off the Yemeni coast and took several hostages. The rebels had taken control on board the car transporter “Galaxy Leader”, the Al-Hadath news channel reported on Sunday. There was a 22-person crew on board, it said without citing any sources. According to Israeli media reports, the ship is partly owned by British-Israeli businessman Rami Ungar.
The approximately 190 meter long “Galaxy Leader” was built in 2002 and sails under the flag of the Bahamas. A spokesman for the Israeli army spoke of a “very serious incident with global reach”. The freighter was on its way from Turkey to India with an international crew on board. There are no Israeli nationals on board. He emphasized that it was “not an Israeli ship.”
On Sunday, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened to attack “all ships” linked to Israel. From now on, all ships that fly the Israeli flag, that are owned by Israeli companies or that are operated by Israeli companies are a target, said spokesman Yahya Sari.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office blamed Iran directly for the attack. “We strongly condemn the Iranian attack on an international ship,” said a spokesman. According to information, there are 25 crew members on the ship, including people from Ukraine, Bulgaria and Mexico as well as the Philippines. “This is another act of Iranian terrorism.”
The rebels had called on all countries in the world to stop sending compatriots to crew these ships and to stop doing business with them. The reason for the move is the “Israeli-American aggression” in the Gaza Strip. In recent weeks, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have said they have fired drones and missiles from the south of the Arabian Peninsula towards Israel several times. The Houthis have significantly expanded their weapons arsenal in recent years. Rebel leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi threatened in a speech in recent days that he would look for “every Israeli ship in the Red Sea.”
Yemen is located in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. One of the world’s most important shipping routes runs past it to and from the Suez Canal in Egypt. This canal connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, providing the shortest sea route from Asia to Europe.
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