2023-11-20 02:16:00
Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have seized an Israeli commercial ship in the Red Sea on Sunday and diverted it to the Yemeni coast, according to a Houthi leader, while the Israeli military denied it was an Israeli ship. “We took control of an Israeli cargo ship,” the Houthi leader told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity, indicating that an official statement would be issued later. A maritime source from the rebel-controlled port of Hodeida (west) said that “the Houthis seized a commercial ship and took it to the port of Al-Salif in Hodeida.”
For its part, the Israeli army denied that it was an Israeli ship. “The ship left Turkey bound for India, with civilians of various nationalities on board, but no Israelis. This is not an Israeli ship,” the army stressed. Houthi rebels threatened on Tuesday to target Israeli ships in the Red Sea, after claiming several attacks against Israel, at war with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Houthis are “part of the axis of resistance”
The Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa, are “part of the axis of resistance” against Israel, which includes groups supported by Iran, such as Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah. In a statement from his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “strongly condemned the Iranian attack on an international ship.”
“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,” according to the statement from Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. “On board the ship are 25 crew members of various nationalities, including Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino and Mexican. No Israelis are on board. This is a new act of Iranian terrorism and a step forward in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world, with international consequences regarding the security of the world’s sea lanes,” the statement continued. .
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