Clip shows helicopter adorned with Palestinian flag landing on board the ship; masked gunmen disembark from the helicopter and proceed to capture the ship’s crew.
The Hezbollah-run TV channel Al-Manar on Monday evening broadcast footage of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels taking over a cargo ship with supposed links to Israel in the southern Red Sea and capturing 22 crewmembers on board the day before.
In the almost four-minute video, a helicopter bearing a Palestinian flag lands on board the ship. Masked gunmen disembark from the helicopter and proceed to capture the ship’s crew. The footage concludes with several smaller boats escorting the vessel.
The Bahamas-flagged vessel, Galaxy Leader, is reportedly owned by the shipping company Ray, owned by Israeli businessman Rami Ungar. There were no Israelis on board.
The IDF called the hijacking of the cargo ship “a very grave incident of global consequence.” The army added that the vessel was “staffed by civilians of various nationalities, not including Israelis. It is not an Israeli ship.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident an “Iranian attack against an international vessel.”
But the claimed of Ira’s involvement has met with an official denial by the Tehran
“Israel claimed that the ship, owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese firm, was hijacked under Iranian direction by the Houthi militia in Yemen,” a statement from his office read.
“The vessel had 25 crew members of various nationalities, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos and Mexicans; no Israelis were on board.
“This is another act of Iranian terrorism, representing a significant escalation in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world, and has international implications for the security of global shipping routes.”
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