Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Sunday they had hijacked an Israeli merchant ship in the Red Sea. The Jewish state assures that the boat is not one of its own and denounces an attack “against an international ship.”
Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have hijacked an Israeli merchant ship in the Red Sea on Sunday, November 19. They claim they diverted it toward the Yemeni coast, according to a Houthi leader. The Israeli army denied that it was an Israeli ship.
“We have taken control of an Israeli cargo ship,” the Houthi leader said on condition of anonymity, indicating an official statement would be made later. A maritime source from the rebel-held port of Hodeida (west) said that “the Houthis seized a merchant ship and took it to the port of Al-Salif in Hodeida.”
The Israeli army, for its part, denied that it was an Israeli ship. “The ship left Turkey for India, there were civilians of various nationalities on board, but no Israelis. “It is not an Israeli ship,” the army stressed.
Houthi rebels threatened to attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea on Tuesday after claiming several attacks against Israel, which was at war with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel points the finger at Iran
The Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa, are “part of the axis of resistance” against Israel, which includes Iranian-backed groups such as the Palestinian Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
In a statement from his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “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 Yemen’s Houthi militia under the leadership of Iran,” the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
“There are 25 crew members of various nationalities on board the ship, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos and Mexicans. There are no Israelis 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 for the security of the world’s sea lanes,” the statement continued.