WATCH: Houthi Rebels Release Video Of Hijacking India-Bound Israeli Cargo Ship In Military-Like Operation

Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have released a video of hijacking an India-bound Israeli Cargo Ship. In a trained military-like mission, first, the rebel fighters fast-roped on the vessel from a helicopter. Armed with different guns, the rebels first took hostage the crew and then searched the ship for the presence of any Israeli soldiers. The video showed that the rebels were fully trained and prepared to carry out such hijacking.

Watch: Video Of Houthi Rebels Kidnapping Israeli Ship

#BREAKING The Houthi group publishes a video of its seizure of the Israeli ship in the south of the Red Sea. pic.twitter.com/DYZIq2IPKh

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) November 20, 2023

The Houthi rebels seized the ship in the Red Sea and re-routed it to a port in Yemen. Soon after the hijack, Israel said the ship was not Israeli and no crew members were from Israel. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu termed it 'another act of Iranian terrorism'. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) termed the attack on the ship as a 'very grave incident of global consequence'.

It may be recalled that Houthis had earlier threatened to hijack Israeli ships after war broke out between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Since the war, Houthis have also fired several missiles and drones towards Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that the ship was en route from Turkey to India when it was taken over in the southern Red Sea near Yemen. Despite Israel's assertion that the seized vessel has no ties to it, there are unverified claims hinting at a potential Israeli owner of the ship.

In a statement shared on social media on Sunday, Netanyahu expressed Israel's strong condemnation of the Iranian assault on an international vessel. He mentioned that the ship belonged to "a British company and is operated by a Japanese firm," and further specified that "25 crew members from various countries, including Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino, and Mexican nationals," were aboard the vessel.