Israel-Hamas War: Attack on Israeli tanker with presence of Indians, suspicion deepens on Houthi rebels

A tanker owned by an Israeli businessman has been captured by attackers near Yemen's Aden port. No one has yet claimed responsibility for this attack, but it is believed to be the work of anti-Israel Houthi rebels. The name of the ship which was captured is Central Park and it was being operated by a company named Zodiac.

This tanker is filled with phosphoric acid. The company has said that its priority is the safety of the 22 employees present on the ship. These employees include Indians, Russians, Bulgarians, Vietnamese, and citizens of many other countries.

Global maritime risk management firm Embrey said US naval forces appear to be taking stock of the situation and have asked ships to stay away from the area. It was not immediately clear who was behind the incident. Aden is held by forces aligned with Yemen's internationally recognized government and a Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

On Friday, an Iranian drone attacked an Israeli-owned commercial ship in the Indian Ocean. The attack on the CMA CGM SIMI container ship came a week after Houthi rebels hijacked an Israeli-owned ship in the Red Sea. On 19 November, Israel Defense Forces confirmed that Houthi rebels hijacked the Bahamian-flagged Galaxy Leader vehicle carrier, calling it a very serious incident.

The ship left Turkey for India, carrying citizens of various nationalities, the military said but did not include Israelis. This is not an Israeli ship. Galaxy Leader is registered by a British company that is partly owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar.

This is yet another act of Iranian terrorism and a leap in Iran's aggression against citizens of the free world with international consequences regarding the security of global shipping lanes, the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem said.