Yemen’s Houthis warned Israel’s allies on Wednesday that they were now a “legitimate target” in the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, after the rebels seized a ship owned by an Israeli businessman.
• Read also: Video | The Houthis seize a cargo ship in the Red Sea
On Sunday, the Houthis announced the seizure in the Red Sea of this cargo ship with a crew of 25 on board, chartered by a Japanese group and flying the flag of the Bahamas, in response to the war waged by Israel against the Palestinian Hamas movement in 2019. Gaza. The war broke out as a result of a bloody attack launched by Hamas in Israel on October 7, which led to the death of 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to the authorities.
In response, Israel has relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip, killing more than 14,000 people, including more than 5,800 children, according to the Hamas government.
A photographer working with Agence France-Presse reported that the Galaxy Leader ship was anchored in the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah in northwest Yemen. The Yemeni and Palestinian flags were raised on the detained ship.
The video published by the military media of the Houthis passing through Bab al-Mandab is also considered a legitimate target.
He added, “Bab al-Mandab is a red line… and any civilian or military ship (linked to Israel) is considered a legitimate target.”
The Yemeni coast overlooks the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is a narrow passage between Yemen and Djibouti, in the far south of the Red Sea, through which a large part of the world’s maritime traffic passes.
According to the specialized Marine Traffic website, the Galaxy Leader ship, which was transporting cars, was sailing southwest of the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, in the Red Sea, when its radar signals were cut off on Saturday.
The Israeli army said on Sunday that the kidnapping was a “very serious incident.” She added that the ship left Turkey heading to India and was carrying “civilians of different nationalities, but not Israelis.”
The Houthi general, who controls vast areas of Yemen, warned: “We will carry out combat missions until the Zionist entity stops its attacks on Gaza.”
A member of the Supreme Political Council of the Houthis, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, said on Tuesday, on his account on the X website, that “it is still difficult to liberate the ship and its crew.” He added that they will be released “when the siege on Gaza is completely lifted and the aggression stops.”
