@GazaNewsPlus Twitter recording broadcast by the Yemeni Armed Forces
Israeli ship taken hostage in response to attacks in Gaza, shocking images
INTERNATIONAL – Houthi rebels in Yemen seized a merchant ship belonging to an Israeli businessman in the Red Sea on Sunday, November 19, in retaliation for Israel’s war against its Palestinian ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the ship was owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese group. Therefore, Israel, Japan and the United States condemned the seizure of the building.
Japan announced on Monday, November 20, that it would move closer to the Houthis in Yemen. Japan “is communicating with Israel and in addition to direct contacts with the Houthis, we call on Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran and other relevant countries to urge the Houthis to quickly release the ship and crew members,” Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said on Monday.
The Houthis released images of the operation to seize the ship, as you can see below.
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Nippon Yusen, also known as NYK Line (Japan), confirmed to AFP on Monday that it operates the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader: “The Galaxy Leader, a car carrier that we chartered from the company, was” close to the Coast captured from Hodeida in western Yemen.
The Japanese company said it had formed a special team to collect information and ensure the safety of the 25 crew members. And the Japanese government “strongly condemned” the hijacking of this ship, while making it clear that there were no Japanese citizens on board.
The crew was treated “in accordance with the teachings and values” of the Islamic religion
The announcement of the hostage crisis came days after Iran-backed rebels threatened to attack Israeli ships in this strategic sea between northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, as Israel wages war against the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces conducted a military operation in the Red Sea, the result of which was the seizure of an Israeli ship and its transfer to the Yemeni coast,” Yahya Saree, Houthi military spokesman, said on the social network
This seizure is based “on the religious, humanitarian and moral responsibility towards the oppressed Palestinian people, who are subjected to an unjustified siege and the continuation of the terrible and heinous massacres of the Israeli enemy.”
The Houthis, who control much of war-torn Yemen, only threaten “the ships of the Israeli entity and the ships belonging to the Israelis,” their military spokesman argued, emphasizing that the occupation was “in accordance with doctrines and values.” our Islamic religion will be treated.”
“Residence in Israel”
According to maritime security firm Ambrey, the car carrier is owned by Ray Car Carriers, a company controlled by Israeli businessman Abraham Rami Ungar and “based in Israel.”
In 2021, an Abraham Rami Ungar ship, the MV Helios Ray, flying the Bahamas flag, was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran. According to the specialist website Tradwinds, the company Ray Car Carriers is registered in Great Britain.
According to the trade website Marine Traffic, the Galaxy Leader, which also sails under the flag of the Bahamas, was traveling off the Saudi port city of Jeddah in the Red Sea when its radar signals were interrupted on Saturday.
For its part, a maritime source from the Yemeni rebel-controlled port of Hodeida (West) stated that “the Houthis seized a merchant ship and took it to the port of Al-Salif in Hodeida.”
“No Israeli” on board
On the Israeli side, the army stated that this ship was carrying “civilians of various nationalities, but not Israelis.” “This is not an Israeli ship,” she stressed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “strongly condemned the Iranian attack on an international ship,” which he described as “aggression” against the “free world” with consequences “for the security of the world’s sea lanes.”
“The ship, owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese company, was hijacked by the Yemeni Houthi militia under the direction of Iran,” Benjamin Netanyahu added, stating that 25 crew members of various nationalities – Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos – and Mexicans – were on board, but “no Israelis”.
A US military source called the seizure of the Galaxy Leader car carrier by “Houthi rebels” a “flagrant violation of international law.” According to this source, Washington will contact its allies and the United Nations to consider “appropriate” measures.
Be sure to reach Israel
In recent weeks, Houthi rebels have fired several drones and missiles into Israeli territory.
“The fact that eight waves of missiles and drones fired by the Houthis from Yemen failed to hit their targets in Israeli territory may have prompted (the rebels) to refocus on the Red Sea,” said he told AFP Mohammed Al-Basha, Middle East specialist at the American analysis center Navanti Group.
“We have our eyes open to constantly monitor and search for every Israeli ship,” Houthi leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi said in a speech on their Al-Massira channel, threatening to “target” them. .
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