Yemen’s Houthi rebels seized the vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea on Sunday, officials said, taking over two dozen crew members hostage.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they hijacked the ship over its connection to Israel. The group warned that it would continue to target ships in international waters that were linked to or owned by Israelis until the end of Israel’s campaign against Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
The government of Israel denies that the ship is Israeli. The Times of Israel reports that the Bahaman-flagged vessel is registered under a British company, which is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar, who goes by Rami. The vessel was leased out to a Japanese company at the time of the hijacking.
According to the military, the ship was sailing from Turkey to India with an international civilian crew, without any Israelis aboard.
Ungar told the Associated Press he was aware of the incident but couldn’t comment as he awaited details. A ship linked to him experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman. Israeli media blamed it on Iran at the time.
Two U.S. defense officials confirmed that Houthi rebels seized the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea on Sunday afternoon local time. The rebels descended on the cargo ship by repelling down from a helicopter, the officials said, confirming details first reported by NBC News.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels seize cargo ship they claim is Israel’s in Red Sea
Yemen’s Houthis rebels have released a video showing armed men seizing a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea.
The video from Yemeni Military Media shows at least seven masked men, carrying what appears to be AK-47s, drop from a helicopter and land on the top deck of the ship.
The ship was hijacked on Sunday by the Iran-backed group, who said the ship was linked to Israel. Israel claimed that the seized ship was instead British-owned and Japanese-operated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wOM1IQdJuU&t=11s
For the want of a security detail with a stinger missile or two the crew and ship were lost.