- Iran-backed Houthi rebels hijacked an international-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea on Sunday.
- A new video released by the militants shows them carrying out a helicopter attack on the ship.
- The Yemen-based group said the incident was related to Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.
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A new video from the Houthi rebel group shows the Iran-backed militants carrying out a dramatic helicopter attack on an international-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea, hijacking the ship and taking the entire crew hostage.
The chilling footage, nearly four minutes long and released by Yemen-based Houthis on Monday, shows clips of the ship’s seizure the day before. The film begins by showing the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader from a distance before cutting to a helicopter landing on the deck – an aggressive operation even by Iranian standards.
Several militants armed with rifles are seen exiting the helicopter and storming the deck, taking up positions as they approach the ship’s bridge before entering the wheelhouse and shouting at a handful of crew members. Additional footage shows some of the Rebels operating from other locations in the ship, as well as footage showing the Galaxy Leader sailing between several smaller speedboats.
A Houthi speaker said On Sunday, the rebel group said it had seized the ship because it was linked to Israel and warned all Israel-linked ships that they would become “a legitimate target” for military action. The spokesman recommended that countries whose citizens work in the Red Sea avoid cooperating with Israeli-linked ships.
But Israeli officials have pushed back on this. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a Telegram statement on Sunday that the Galaxy Leader was not an Israeli ship and had left Turkey en route to India. Publicly available shipping data on Saturday showed the ship was halfway through its journey south through the Red Sea.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said The ship is owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese company, although it is reportedly linked to an Israeli billionaire. The office said the 25 crew members on board were a handful of nationalities, including Ukrainians and Mexicans, but none of them were Israeli. It condemned “in the strongest terms” what it described as an “Iranian attack.”
“This is another act of Iranian terrorism and represents a step forward in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world, with international consequences for the security of global shipping lanes,” Netanyahu’s office said. Iran’s naval activities around the Middle East – including ship hijackings and arms smuggling to the Houthis – have long worried Western militaries, and US officials often chide Tehran for what they say are destabilizing actions.
Meanwhile, the condition of the hostages aboard the Galaxy Leader is unknown, and the Japanese government is reportedly working to secure their release through negotiations with the Houthis. Shipping company NYK Line said on Monday that there was no cargo on board the ship when it was seized near Hodeida on Yemen’s west coast. It is unclear exactly where the ship is now, although the Houthi spokesman said after confirming its capture that it would be taken to the coast of Yemen.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces are acting with the ship’s crew in accordance with the principles and values of our Islamic religion,” the spokesman said. They added that the Houthis will continue to target Israeli assets until the country ends its war against Hamas, although Israel – and the US – have ruled this out and continue to emphasize the need to completely destroy Hamas, even though they are for the October 7 terror attacks are responsible.
Since that day, the Houthis have fired multiple waves of drones and missiles at Israel, forcing the country to activate the upper echelon of its sophisticated air defense network. US Navy warships in the Red Sea have also shot down Houthi threats more than once, most recently a drone last week. In addition to their list of provocations, Houthi fighters even shot down a US military MQ-9 Reaper drone off the coast of Yemen in early November.
The Houthis are one of several Iran-backed groups that have stepped up attacks on Israel and the United States since the ongoing war began. Hezbollah militants in Lebanon continue to carry out daily cross-border attacks with IDF troops, and Tehran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria have launched dozens of rocket and drone attacks on U.S. forces stationed in both countries.