DUBAI, November 19. /TASS/. The Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (the Houthi) hijacked an Israeli ship in the Red Sea and tugged it to the Yemeni coast, its crew was detained, Ansar Allah movement spokesman Yahya Saria has said.
"The Yemeni armed forces conducted a military operation in the Red Sea, which resulted in the seizure of an Israeli ship. It was towed to the Yemeni coast. The Yemeni armed forces are treating the ship’s crew in compliance with the values of our Islamic religion," he said in a statement posted on the movement’s Telegram channel.
The Al Hadath television channel reported earlier on Sunday, citing its sources, that the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (the Houthi) has hijacked the Israeli cargo ship Galaxy Leader in the Gulf of Aden. According to the Al Hadath sources, the ship has a crew of 22, with their citizenship not specified. The Al Mayadeen television channel said, however, that the ship had been seized in the Red Sea and its crew included 52 people.
According to the MarineTraffic, a maritime analytics provider, which provides real-time information on the movements of ships, the vessel was flying the flag of the Bahamas. Both television channels, however, said that the ship belong to Israel.
The ship reported its current location at 01:04 p.m. local time (10:04 a.m. GMT) for the last time. It was in the central part of the Red Sea at the moment. Currently, the Galaxy Leader’s transponders are switched off. According to Marine Traffic, the ship’s navigation status is "Underway using Engine." The France-Presse agency cited its sources as saying that the ship had been towed to the Yemeni port of Hodeida.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has refuted Al Hadath and Al Mayadeen’s reports. It said that the Galaxy Leader, which was on its way from Turkey to India, has nothing to do with Israel and there are no Israeli nationals among its crew.
According to the office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the vessel belongs to a British company and is operated by a Japanese company. It has 2q5 crewmembers, none of them are Israeli citizens. The office put the blame for the hijacking on Iran.
Houthi threats
Earlier on Sunday, Saria warned about attacks on Israeli civilian vessels, which happen to be in the Houthi arms’ reach area. He called on all countries to evacuate their nationals from the crews and refuse from the services of Israeli shipping companies. He also warned against approaching such ships in the Red Sea.
Ansar Allah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said on November 14 that the movement would continue to attack Israel and would hit Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Houthi strikes on Israel
Since early October when the situation in the Gaza strip escalated, the Houthi have attacked Israeli territory several times. On October 31, the Houthi spokesman said that a great number of ballistic missiles and drones had been launched at Israel. The IDF said on the same day that air raid alarm sirens had sounded in the city of Eilat. According to the Israeli Kan radio station, the drone was launched from Yemen and shot down over the Red Sea.
On October 27, Egyptian air defense forces shot down two drones over the northeastern part of the Sinai Peninsula. The drones were flying northwards from the southern part of the Red Sea. Shortly before that, the Israeli foreign ministry said that the Houthi had delivered a strike on Egyptian territory with the use of missiles and drones.