Yemen’s Houthi rebels hijack British-owned cargo ship within the Red Sea | EUROtoday

A cargo ship has been seized within the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen, with as much as 22 crew members believed to have been taken hostage and brought to a Yemeni port.

The British-owned ship, which is being leased to a Japanese firm, was intercepted because it travelled previous the Arabian peninsula on its option to India. The ship is believed to be the Galaxy Leader.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has mentioned there have been no residents from Israel on board and denied the ship was Israeli, however described it as a “grave incident”.

Israel has lately come below assault from the Houthis, an ally of Tehran, with long-range missiles and drone salvoes launched in solidarity with the Palestinian Hamas militants within the Gaza Strip.

Last week, the Houthi chief mentioned his forces would make additional assaults on Israel and so they might goal Israeli ships within the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

In an announcement on social media website X, the IDF mentioned: “The hijacking of a cargo ship by the Houthis near Yemen in the southern Red Sea is a very grave incident of global consequence.

“The ship departed Turkey on its way to India, staffed by civilians of various nationalities, not including Israelis. It is not an Israeli ship.”

The Houthi rebels confirmed they’d been liable for the hijacking and mentioned they’d diverted the ship to Yemen.

“We are treating the ship’s crew in accordance with Islamic principles and values,” a spokesperson of the group’s navy mentioned in an announcement.

A U.S. Defense official mentioned “we’re aware of the situation and are closely monitoring it”.

Meanwhile, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned: “This is another Iranian act of terrorism that represents an escalation in Iran’s belligerence against the citizens of the free world, with concomitant international ramifications vis-à-vis the security of global shipping routes.”

The vessel had been in Korfez, Turkey, and was on its option to Pipavav, India, on the time of the seizure reported Israel.