Houthi rebels seized a ship with 22 crew members on board. The kidnapping occurred in northern Yemen, in the Red Sea region, south of the Egyptian-Sudanese border.
The ship, loaded with vehicles, was traveling from a port in southern Turkey to a port in western India. The rebels have reportedly taken control of it and are now checking the nationality of the crew members. Although initial information indicated that it was an Israeli ship, it now appears to have been sold to a Japanese company. There were no Israelis on board, the IDF said, citing a very serious incident at the international level.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office “strongly condemned the Iranian attack on an international ship.” “The ship, owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese company, was hijacked by the Houthi militia in Yemen on an Iranian whim. There are 25 crew members of various nationalities on board the ship, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos and Mexicans. “No Israelis were present on board the ship,” he said in a statement.
“This is another act of Iranian terrorism that represents a step forward in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world,” he added.
Last week, the Houthi Forces spokesman claimed that all Israeli ships were a target of the pro-Iranian Shiite militia, including Israeli-flagged ships, Israeli-owned ships and ships to or from Israel.
Against the backdrop of Israeli reprisals in the Gaza Strip, Houthi attacks against the Jewish state have increased in recent weeks. The country has been the target of several drone and missile attacks from Yemen, including ballistic missiles intercepted by the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 systems.