Source : NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS
Vessel’s link to Israeli billionaire
The Houthi rebels said they hijacked the Galaxy Leader over its connection to Israel. They then had a campaign targeting ships in international waters, which only stopped with the recent ceasefire in Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A representative for the Galaxy Leader’s owners had no immediate comment on Wednesday.
The Bahamas-flagged vessel is affiliated with an Israeli billionaire Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel.
The Houthi attack on the Galaxy Leader saw the rebels launched a helicopter-borne raid. Propaganda footage of the raid has been played constantly by the Houthis, who even shot a music video aboard the ship at one point.
On Monday, the Houthis signaled they now will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships after a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip, but warned wider assaults could resume if needed.
However, it likely won’t be enough to encourage global firms to reenter the route that’s crucial for cargo and energy shipments moving between Asia and Europe. Their attacks have halved traffic through the region, cutting deeply into revenues for Egypt, which runs the Suez Canal linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.
The release of the vessel’s crew now may be an effort to curry favor with the U.S., though the ship still remains moored off the Yemeni port city of Hodeida.
“This gesture by the Houthis may be intended as a goodwill measure towards the new Trump administration, potentially aiming to delay their designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” said Yemen expert Mohammed al-Basha, of the Basha Report risk advisory firm.
SOURCE :- NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
