There's a new, maritime front in the Israel-Hamas conflict, pitting the "axis of resistance" – Iran-backed armed groups – against Israel and its interests. On Sunday November 19, Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have seized the Galaxy Leader, a commercial vessel owned by an Israeli businessman, in the Red Sea, in retaliation for Israel's war against their Palestinian allies Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since taking power in Sanaa in 2014, the Zaydi armed group, which following a branch of Shi'ia Islam, has made the fight against Israel a marker of its ideology.

"The Yemeni Naval Forces managed to capture an Israeli ship in the depths of the Red Sea, taking it to the Yemeni coast," claimed Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree on social network X. Saree said that they would "continue to carry out military operations against the Israeli enemy until the aggression against Gaza stops and the heinous acts against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza and the West Bank stop."

Saree said that the Houthis, who control part of the Red Sea coastline, would only represent a threat for Israeli ships or those owned by Israelis, stressing that the crew were treated "in accordance with the principles and values of our Islamic religion." For Mohammed Abdulsalam, the group's chief negotiator and spokesperson, "The detention of the Israeli ship is a practical step that proves the seriousness of the Yemeni armed forces in waging the sea battle, regardless of its costs," he added. "This is the beginning."

25 crew members

According to specialist website Marine Traffic, the Bahamian-flagged Galaxy Leader was sailing off the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Saturday when its automatic identification system, or AIS, was deactivated, in a bid to conceal its presence. The attack comes just days after Yemeni rebels threatened to target Israeli vessels in the strategic sea between northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

According to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British naval service that maintains contact between military forces deployed in the region and merchant vessels, the Galaxy Leader was hijacked 150 kilometers off the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah, the main Houthi-controlled port on the Red Sea coast.

Israeli officials insist that the ship is British. They reported that 25 crew members of various nationalities were on board, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos and Mexicans – but no Israelis. According to the maritime security company Ambrey, the cargo ship, which specializes in transporting cars, is owned by Ray Car Carriers, a company controlled by Israeli businessman Abraham Rami Ungar, one of the country's wealthiest individuals.

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