Yemeni Houthi terrorists released a video on Monday showing their fighters jumping off of a helicopter onto a massive 620-foot cargo ship in the Red Sea.
The Iranian-backed terrorists proceeded to take all 25 crew members on board the ship hostage.
The ship was “illegally boarded by military personnel via a helicopter”, the Galaxy Leader’s owner said on Monday. “All communications were subsequently lost with the vessel.”
“The company, as a shipping concern, will not be commenting further on the political or geopolitical situation,” the owner added.
The United States called the Houthi’s actions illegal and said the “key concern at this time is the safety and security of the 25 crew members currently being held by the perpetrators of this criminal act”.
“The Houthi seizure of the motor vessel Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea is a flagrant violation of international law,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. “We demand the immediate release of the ship and its crew and we will consult with our allies and U.N. partners as to appropriate next steps.”
WATCH:
NEW VIDEO: Yemen’s Houthi rebels hijack a cargo ship in the Red Sea over the weekend pic.twitter.com/pkkUJpbe5c
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) November 20, 2023
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader cargo ship was leased to a Japanese company from a British company that is partially owned by an Israeli businessman.
“Israel strongly condemns the Iranian attack against an international vessel,” the Israeli government said in a statement. “The ship, which is owned by a British company and is operated by a Japanese firm, was hijacked with Iran guidance by the Yemenite Houthi militia.”
Israel said that none of the crew members were Israeli citizens. The ship had left a port in Turkey and was headed to India when it was seized by the terrorists.
“This is another act of Iranian terrorism and constitutes a leap forward in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world, with international consequences regarding the security of the global shipping lanes,” the statement concluded.
Earlier in the day, the Houthis said through one of their media outlets that they would “target all types of ships that carry the flag of the Zionist entity or are operated by or owned by Israeli companies, calling on all countries of the world to withdraw their citizens working on the crews of the enemy entity’s ships, and to avoid shipping on them.”