Houthi militants hijack cargo ship in Red Sea, IDF says
A British-owned cargo ship operated by a Japanese company was hijacked by Houthi militants near Yemen in the southern Red Sea, officials said Sunday.
The Israel Defense Forces released a statement describing the hijacking as a "very grave incident of global consequence."
"The ship departed Turkey on its way to India, staffed by civilians of various nationalities, not including Israelis," the IDF said. "It is not an Israeli ship."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office called the incident an "Iranian attack on an international ship," adding the vessel was "hijacked on [an] Iranian whim by the Houthi militia in Yemen."
Netanyahu's office confirmed that no Israelis were on the ship, saying the 25-person crew was of different nationalities, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos and Mexicans.
The Houthi militant group is expected to hold a news conference, a spokesperson for the group said.
A spokesman for Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi military, Yahya Sarea, had said earlier Sunday the group would target all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or carrying the Israeli flag, according to the group's Telegram channel.
-ABC News' Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Dana Savir