‘Struck and destroyed’: Israel launches airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis; India-bound vessel seized by rebel group in 2023 among targets hit

Galaxy Leader cargo ship was captured by the Houthis on November 19, 2023 (Image credit score: Jerusalem Post)

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) performed profitable airstrikes towards ports and amenities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a spokesperson of the Israeli army introduced on Monday.The targets included a industrial vessel seized by the Houthis in November 2023, in keeping with lieutenant colonel Nadav Shoshani of the IDF. The vessel was sure for India on the day of its seize.“STRUCK AND DESTROYED: Military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime at the ports of Al Hudaydah, Ras Isa, Salif, and the Ras Kanatib Power Plant. These strikes were in response to repeated Houthi attacks against Israel and demonstrate the regime’s systematic use of civilian infrastructure for terrorism,” Shoshani posted on X.

Nadav Shoshani X submit

At Ras Isa, the Israeli army destroyed the Galaxy Leader vessel, he famous, including that the Houthis had put in a radar system on the ship to trace vessels and facilitate “terrorist activity.”Another key facility destroyed was the Ras Kanatib energy plant, a big electrical energy supply for Yemen’s rebels.“These ports are used to transfer Iranian weapons, which the Houthis employ in terrorist operations against Israel and its allies,” Shoshani wrote.The IDF strikes got here after Sunday’s assault in the Red Sea on a Liberian-flagged ship, which caught hearth and took on water, later forcing its crew to desert the vessel.Suspicion for the assault on the Greek-owned bulk service Magic Seas instantly fell on the Houthis, significantly as a safety agency stated it appeared bomb-carrying drone boats hit the ship after it was focused by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.The rebels’ media reported on the assault however didn’t declare it.The Galaxy Leader seizeThe Houthis seized the ship on November 19, 2023, as they started a marketing campaign in the Red Sea towards vessels which they claimed have been linked to Israel, following Hamas’s October 7 bloodbath in the Jewish State, and the next battle in Gaza.Following its seize, a spokesperson of Yemen’s rebel group declared that it might goal all ships owned or operated by Israeli firms or carrying the Israeli flag.The Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader was indirectly owned or operated by Israelis, however leased to a Japanese agency from a British firm partly owned by an Israeli nationwide. On the day of its seize, the cargo ship had left a port in Turkey and headed for India. On board have been 25 crew members of various nationalities, together with Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos, and Mexicans. The crew members have been launched solely in January this yr, and allowed to depart for Oman.