Iran-Backed Houthi Rebels Hijack Bahamian Ship Off Coast of Yemen

Israeli commerce between Asia is under threat after a ship owned by a British Jew was hijacked off the coast of Yemen. According to the Israeli government and Arab press sources, a Japanese-operated cargo ship that was registered in the Bahamas, Galaxy Leader, was hijacked off the coast of Yemen by Iran-backed rebels. According to officials speaking to NBC, around 1 pm Sunday local time, a helicopter hovered over the roll-on-roll-off car transport vessel and several armed militants rappelled down to the deck. The Yemeni militants said they had “hijacked an Israeli ship with its crew and brought it towards the Yemeni coast, to support our oppressed brothers in Gaza,” al Jazeera reported. “As long as they insist on their aggression against our people in Gaza,” a Houthi spokesman, Heza Malasad, said on X, formerly Twitter, “they must take the route of the Cape of Good Hope.” Mr. Malasad was referring to the Southern tip of Africa as an alternative route from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, which would be a significantly longer route. The vessel was en route from Turkey to India with more than 20 crew members on board. Conflicting reports in Arab and Israeli media place the exact number of crew at either 22 or 25. The crew members’ nationalities include Ukranians, Bulgarians, Filipinos, and Mexicans. No Israelis were onboard, according to the Israeli foreign ministry. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office condemned the seizure, highlighting that the ship was not Israeli nor owned by Israelis. “This is another act of Iranian terrorism which expresses a leap forward in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s office stated, “and creates international implications regarding the security of global shipping lanes.”The message was echoed by the Israeli Defense Forces, which called the hijacking of the cargo ship “a very grave incident of global consequence.” The IDF added that the vessel was “staffed by civilians of various nationalities, not including Israelis. It is not an Israeli ship.”Shortly before the incursion occurred on Sunday morning, a spokesman for Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi military, Yahya Sarea, said the group will target all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or flying the Israeli flag, according to the group’s Telegram channel.The militant group stated they aimed, “to provide relief to our oppressed people in Gaza,” and “will target … ships carrying the flag of the Zionist entity, ships operated by Israeli companies, ships owned by Israeli companies.” The Islamic rebels demanded, “all countries of the world to withdraw citizens working on the crews of these ships,” to “avoid shipping on or handling these vessels,” and to “inform ships to stay away from these vessels.” The hijacked vessel is owned by British shipping company, Ray Car Carriers. The company is owned by a Jewish businessman, Abraham Unger. As the Sun has previously reported, the hijacking comes amidst a flurry of attacks from the Yemenite rebels directed at the Jewish State. The country, which was once home to a sizable Jewish population, has frequently targeted Israel with drone and missile attacks in solidarity with Hamas terrorist operations. In response to the attacks, Israel has deployed warships off the coast of Yemen, in the Red Sea.

Iran-Backed Houthi Rebels Hijack Bahamian Ship Off Coast of Yemen

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