In a significant maritime incident, the Israeli military has described the hijacking of a cargo ship by Houthi rebels near Yemen, in the southern Red Sea, as a “very serious global event.”
Arab and Israeli reports on Sunday afternoon indicated that the ship, owned by Israeli businessman Rami Ungar, was targeted by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
However, the Israeli military clarified that the seized ship was not Israeli and confirmed that there were no Israelis on board.
Israeli reports state that the vessel, controlled by the Houthis, is owned by a company belonging to Rami Ungar and is registered in Britain.
According to a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “The ship is owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese company, and it was hijacked by the Houthi militia in Yemen.”
The statement further detailed that the ship had a crew of 25 people of various nationalities, and there were no Israelis on board.
Netanyahu’s office emphasized that this act is an “Iranian terrorist operation,” indicative of an escalation in Iran’s aggression toward the free world and having global implications for international maritime security.
The ship, named “Galaxy Leader,” had reportedly stopped transmitting its location coordinates since Saturday morning. The last known coordinates were placed near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The vessel, carrying cars, was traveling from Turkey to India. Arab sources noted that there were 52 people on the ship.
A leader from the Houthi group, Ansar Allah, told Al Jazeera that “our forces have led an Israeli ship to the shores of Yemen, in support of our oppressed people in Gaza.”
