Houthis hijack ship coming to India

Why have Yemen's Houthi rebels taken an India-bound cargo ship hostage?

Transcript

00:00They jumped out of helicopters wearing masks, carrying arms and backpacks, recording themselves

00:05hijacking an India-bound ship.

00:11These are members of the Houthi rebel group from Yemen.

00:14They released this unverified footage of the ship's hijack.

00:18Houthis said they would attack every Israeli ship in international waters to put pressure

00:22of ceasefire on Israel.

00:31Israel had been bombarding Gaza in Palestine from 7 October 2023 when Hamas's military

00:37wing in Gaza had dropped bombs on Israel.

00:40This hijacking was the first maritime angle in the Israel-Hamas war.

00:45Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said that Yemeni armed forces' naval wing carried

00:50out the military operation.

00:52It happened in the Red Sea, which is a crucial route for global commercial and oil trade.

00:57But Israel said it didn't own the ship and that it was a British-owned ship operated

01:01by Japan.

01:02Israel accused Iran of being involved in the hijack, but Iran denied the allegations.

01:08An NDTV report said the ship was associated with Raykar Carriers, which was founded by

01:13Israeli billionaire Abraham Rami Ungar.

01:16On 19 November 2023, a helicopter carrying Houthis approached the Galaxy Leader ship.

01:29The chopper had the colours of the Yemeni flag and the Palestinian flag painted on it.

01:34The Houthis also wore headbands displaying the Palestinian flag.

01:38It flew lower and lower, hovering right above the ship's deck.

01:42The ship was coming from Turkey to a coast in Gujarat, India.

01:45It wasn't stocked with cargo.

01:47But according to a statement from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office, 25 crew members

01:54of different nationalities such as Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino and Mexican were on the

01:59ship.

02:00No Israelis or Indians were on board.

02:02As the helicopter landed, Houthis jumped out of it, moving ahead with caution, their arms

02:07pointed in front.

02:09The helicopter took off as the militants rapidly made their way further into the ship.

02:13There appeared to be at least nine armed persons wearing body cams, which were recording the

02:18operation.

02:29They entered the ship's control room or bridge and the crew members put their hands up.

02:39They allegedly forced the ship to go to a Yemeni coast.

02:44The Houthis also recorded the operation from boats, according to Hindustan Times.

02:48The US, Israel and Japan condemned the hijacking.