India-bound cargo ship hijacked by Houthi militants using chopper: US officials

Israel on Sunday alleged Yemen’s Houthi militia group had seized an international cargo ship, which was on its way to India, in the southern Red Sea.

Tel Aviv called it an “Iranian act of terrorism” and “a very grave incident on a global level”. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship was seized by the Houthis, allies of Tehran. Officials stated that there were no Israelis on the ship.

“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-a-vis the security of global shipping routes,” Netanyahu’s office said.

The Houthis confirmed the development. However, they claimed to have seized an Israeli ship, a claim rejected by Tel Aviv. The ship from the southern Red Sea has been taken to a Yemeni port, the group said.

“We are treating the ship’s crew in accordance with Islamic principles and values,” a spokesperson of the group’s military said in a statement. The Houthis hijacked the ship by lowering its fighters using a helicopter.

Tel Aviv said the cargo ship is owned by a British company and is operated by a Japanese firm. There were 25 crew members of various nationalities, including Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino and Mexican onboard the vessel.

In another statement earlier today, a spokesperson of Yemen’s Iran-aligned militia said the group will target all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or carrying the Israeli flag. The group also asked countries to withdraw their citizens working on the crews of any such ships.

Two US defence officials confirmed to The Washington Post that the militia seized the Galaxy Leader ship by descending on it from a helicopter.

A week ago, a Houthi leader announced that the group would increase its attacks on Israel and Israeli ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The group has been targeting Israeli posts with long-range missile and drone salvos, joining the Hamas militants, with whom Israel has been at war since October 7.

The Houthis are a Zaidi Shia Muslim movement that emerged in northern Yemen in the 1990s. They are opposed to the Sunni-dominated government and have fought six wars with the Yemeni government since 2004. In 2014, they seized control of the capital, Sanaa, and forced the government into exile. Since then, they have been fighting a civil war against a Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Arab states.