Ukrainians among crew on ship hijacked by Yemeni Houthis in Red Sea

A group of Houthis, members of an Iran-backed Yemeni movement, have hijacked the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship with an international civilian crew, some of whom are Ukrainian citizens, in the Red Sea.

Source: The Times of Israel; The Jerusalem Post

Details: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the hijacking of the ship is a "very serious incident on the global scale".

The IDF added that the ship was sailing from Türkiye to India with an international civilian crew, and there were no Israelis on board.

"This is not an Israeli ship," the IDF stressed.

The ship was sailing under the Bahamian flag and is registered under a British company partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar, also known as Rami. The vessel was leased out to a Japanese company at the time of the hijacking, The Times of Israel reported.

The Office of the Prime Minister of Israel said in a statement that the British-owned, Japanese-operated ship was "hijacked with Iran guidance by the Yemenite Houthi militia". 

The statement also said that there are 25 crew members of various nationalities on board, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos and Mexicans, but no Israelis.

"This is another act of Iranian terrorism and it constitutes a leap forward in Iran's aggression against the citizens of the free world, with international consequences regarding the security of global shipping lanes," the statement concluded.

Earlier on Sunday, 19 November, Yahya Sarea, a spokesman for the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, said that the group would target all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or flying the Israeli flag.

Sarea called on all countries to recall their citizens working on board such ships.

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