Israel condemn Houthi hijacking of UAE-flagged ship
Israel has condemned the hostile act of the Houthi militias against the merchant ship “Rawabi” which is flying the Emirati flag.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel condemns the hostile action of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia against the merchant vessel flying the Emirati flag off the coast of Yemen’s al-Hudaydah”.
It added: “These actions come as part of Iran’s campaign to destabilize the region and threaten the safety of navigation in the Red Sea and international trade”.
“Earlier this month, a Saudi-flagged cargo ship, the Rawabi, was hijacked while sailing off al-Hudaydah province”, said Brig. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen.
The ship carries the full field equipment for the operation of the Saudi field hospital in Socotra, including ambulances, medical equipment, communications equipment, tents, field kitchen, field sink, technical and security support accessories.
Houthi militias have a track record of terrorism in the Red Sea, carrying out dozens of terrorist operations against oil and commercial vessels, deploying hundreds of naval mines, and repeatedly attempting to carry out terrorist attacks with booby-trapped boats.
Over the past years, the Arab coalition has thwarted dozens of terrorist operations using boat bombs, which were destroyed before they were launched, and has repeatedly announced the detection of Houthi boat bombs attempting to target cargo ships off the Yemeni coast.
