To you: Houthi rebels in Yemen have confirmed that they have hijacked an “Israeli cargo ship” in the Red Sea.
“The Houthis announced that they will carry out a military operation in the Red Sea, and the results of this operation include the capture of an Israeli ship,” Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a statement broadcast on the group’s al-Masirah TV on Sunday.
Reiterating the rebel group’s threat to target all ships belonging to or doing business with Israel, Sarea called on “all countries whose citizens operate in the Red Sea to cease any activity involving Israeli ships or ships chartered by Israelis.”
The spokesman reiterated that the group will continue to conduct military operations against Israel until its “aggression against the Gaza Strip” ends, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated in a statement a few hours ago on Sunday that the Houthis took control of the cargo ship near Yemen in the southern Red Sea and that the ship was heading from Turkey to India.
The IDF warned that the kidnapping was “a very serious incident with global consequences.”
According to Saudi-based Al Arabiya TV news, the ship was identified as Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship carrying cars.
Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported that the ship was operated by a Japanese company, which leased it from a British company co-owned by Israeli shipping tycoon and vehicle importer Rami Ungar.
Online ship tracking platform Marine Traffic published its latest update on the hijacked Galaxy Leader at 13:04 local time on Saturday.
Houthi militias have controlled much of Yemen’s north, including the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeida, since the Yemeni civil war broke out in late 2014.
news source (www.thekashmirmonitor.net)
