Yemen's Houthi rebels hijack an Israeli-linked India-bound ship in Red Sea

Yemens Houthi rebels seized an Israelilinked cargo ship in a crucial Red Sea shipping route on Sunday officials said taking over two dozen crew members hostage and raising fears that regional tensions heightened over the IsraelHamas war were playing out on a new maritime frontThe Iranbacked Houthi rebels said they hijacked the ship over its connection to Israel and took the crew as hostages The group warned that it would continue to target ships in international waters that were linked to or owned by Israelis until the end of Israels campaign against Gazas Hamas rulersAll ships belonging to the Israeli enemy or that deal with it will become legitimate targets the Houthis saidIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office had blamed the Houthis for the attack on the Bahamasflagged Galaxy Leader a vehicle carrier affiliated with an Israeli billionaire It said the 25 crew members had a range of nationalities including Bulgarian Filipino Mexican and Ukrainian but that no Israelis had been on boardThe Houthis said they were treating the crew members in accordance with their Islamic values but did not elaborate on what that meantNetanyahus office condemned the seizure as an Iranian act of terror The Israeli military called the hijacking a very grave incident of global consequenceIsraeli officials insisted the ship was Britishowned and Japaneseoperated However ownership details in public shipping databases associated the ships owners with Ray Car Carriers which was founded by Abraham Rami Ungar who is known as one of the richest men in IsraelUngar told The Associated Press he was aware of the incident but couldnt comment as he awaited details A ship linked to him experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman Israeli media blamed it on Iran at the timeThe complex world of international shipping often involves a series of management companies flags and owners stretching across the globe in a single vesselTwo US defence officials confirmed that Houthi rebels seized the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea on Sunday afternoon local time The rebels descended on the cargo ship by repelling down from a helicopter the officials said confirming details first reported by NBC News The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matterTwice in the last month US warships have intercepted missiles or drones from Yemen that were believed to be headed toward Israel or posing a threat to American vessels The USS Carney a Navy destroyer intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces toward the northern Red Sea last monthOn November 15 the USS Thomas Hudner another destroyer was sailing toward the BabelMandeb strait when the crew saw a drone reported to have originated in Yemen The ship shot down the drone over the water The officials said the crew took action to ensure the safety of US personnel and there were no casualties or damage to the shipSatellite tracking data from MarineTrafficcom analyzed by the AP showed the Galaxy Leader travelling in the Red Sea southwest of Jeddah Saudi Arabia more than a day ago The vessel had been in Korfez Turkey and was on its way to Pipavav India at the time of the seizure reported by IsraelIt had its Automatic Identification System tracker or AIS switched off the data showed Ships are supposed to keep their AIS active for safety reasons but crews will turn them off if it appears they might be targeted or to smuggle contraband which there was no immediate evidence to suggest was the case with the Galaxy LeaderThe British militarys United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations which provides warnings to sailors in the Persian Gulf and the wider region put the hijacking as having occurred some 150 kilometres 90 miles off the coast of Yemens port city of Hodeida near the coast of EritreaThe Red Sea stretching from Egypts Suez Canal to the narrow Bab elMandeb Strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa remains a key trade route for global shipping and energy supplies Thats why the US Navy has stationed multiple ships in the sea since the start of the IsraelHamas war on October 7Since 2019 a series of ships have come under attack at sea as Iran began breaking all the limits of its tattered nuclear deal with world powers As Israel expands its devastating campaign against Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip following the militant groups unprecedented attack on southern Israel fears have grown that the military operations could escalate into a wider regional conflict The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to target Israeli ships in the waters off Yemen