2024-01-29T12:41:17+00:00
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/ Off the coast of Hodeidah in western Yemen, the Houthis proudly display the ship “Galaxy Leader”, which they have been holding for more than two months for its connection to an Israeli businessman, and organize visits for Yemenis on board.
Zubair Al-Haidari, who came from the capital Sanaa, which is more than 200 kilometers away from Hodeidah, told Agence France-Presse that he took a five-hour trip “to visit the Israeli ship that was seized.”
On a small wooden boat, Zubeir sits alongside about ten Yemenis from Houthi-controlled areas, mostly in the north of the country. They take photos and videos of themselves as they approach the Galaxy Leader, while they store the stimulant qat plant, a daily habit for Yemenis.
None of them wear a life jacket over their traditional clothes during the ten-minute journey, which costs 500 Yemeni riyals per visitor (about one dollar according to the exchange rate in Houthi-controlled areas), which is equivalent to lunch for one person.
“It is an honor and pride for us as Yemenis that our armed forces are doing this tremendous work in support of their oppressed brothers in Palestine and Gaza,” Zubair said.
The Yemeni rebels’ seizure of the ship, owned by a British group affiliated with an Israeli-based company, on November 19 was the first of their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea that they suspect are linked to or heading to Israel, in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been at war with the Hebrew state since November 7.
Since then, the Houthis have targeted dozens of ships, but most of the time their missiles and drones have been shot down by US forces, while the rebels often claim to have hit their targets.
This disrupts navigation in the strategic area through which 12% of global trade passes. “They will see more than that.” Once the visitors, all men, arrive next to the ship anchored off the coast of Al-Salif in Al-Hodeidah Governorate (west), they climb up a white iron ladder. During the visit, they take souvenir photos.
Others perform the traditional Yemeni Al-Bar’a dance to Houthi songs, carrying traditional daggers, under the bright sun. Mohammed Al-Baydani traveled about 400 kilometers from Al-Bayda Governorate to Al-Hodeidah Governorate, a journey that takes about eight hours, just to visit the ship.
“The ship is a source of pride for the Yemeni people,” he says. The trip from Sanaa to Hodeidah by public bus costs 7,000 Yemeni riyals ($13.2).
As for Al Bayda to Al Hudaydah, public transportation is not available, so residents resort to large cars because the road is rough. Trips are provided twice a week for 12,000 Yemeni riyals ($22.6).
Visitors who met AFP on the ship did not see its crew of about 25, of various nationalities including Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Filipino, and their fate remains unknown.
Days after the ship was hijacked, a video released by the Houthis showed a group of people presented as the ship’s crew listening to the commander of the Houthi naval forces, Major General Mohammed Fadl Abdul Nabi, welcoming them to Yemen.
In an attempt to deter the Houthis, US and British forces launched joint strikes on their military sites in Yemen on January 12 and 22. The US military also carried out strikes on missiles it said were being fired at ships in the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea.
“The Americans will see much more than that,” said Abu Imad, a rebel fighter. The Houthis constantly threaten that their attacks will continue until the war ends and the siege on Gaza is lifted.
“Tourist destination”
Yemeni and Palestinian flags were raised on the ship, and banners bearing anti-US and anti-Israel slogans were hung on board.
“The Yemeni people flocking to this ship, which is now a tourist destination, is evidence that the Yemeni people, with their awareness and understanding, are eager to meet the enemy and confront it,” Houthi political bureau member Hazam al-Assad told AFP.
Visits to the ship are organized throughout the week except Saturday and Tuesday, from 8:00 am to 11:00 am and from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
After Zubeir, Mohammed and others who were with them spent an hour on the ship, they left in the same boats. On the way, they chanted, “God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews, Victory to Islam, At your service, Al-Aqsa.”