'Struck and destroyed': Israel launches airstrikes on Yemen's Houthis; India-bound vessel seized by rebel group in 2023 among targets hit

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted successful airstrikes against ports and facilities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Israeli military's spokesperson announced on Monday.The targets included a commercial vessel seized by the Houthis in November 2023, according to lieutenant colonel Nadav Shoshani of the IDF. The vessel was bound for India on the day of its capture."STRUCK AND DESTROYED: Military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime at the ports of Al Hudaydah, Ras Isa, Salif, and the Ras Kanatib Power Plant. These strikes were in response to repeated Houthi attacks against Israel and demonstrate the regime’s systematic use of civilian infrastructure for terrorism," Shoshani posted on X.

At Ras Isa, the Israeli military destroyed the Galaxy Leader vessel, he noted, adding that the Houthis had installed a radar system on the ship to track vessels and facilitate terrorist activity.Another key facility destroyed was the Ras Kanatib power plant, a significant electricity source for Yemen's rebels."These ports are used to transfer Iranian weapons, which the Houthis employ in terrorist operations against Israel and its allies," Shoshani wrote.

The IDF strikes came after Sunday's attack in the Red Sea on a Liberian-flagged ship, which caught fire and took on water, later forcing its crew to abandon the vessel.Suspicion for the attack on the Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas immediately fell on the Houthis, particularly as a security firm said it appeared bomb-carrying drone boats hit the ship after it was targeted by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.The rebels’ media reported on the attack but did not claim it.The Galaxy Leader captureThe Houthis seized the ship on November 19, 2023, as they began a campaign in the Red Sea against vessels which they claimed were linked to Israel, following Hamas’s October 7 massacre in the Jewish State, and the subsequent war in Gaza.Following its capture, a spokesperson of the Yemen-based group declared that it would target all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or carrying the Israeli flag.The Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader was not directly owned or operated by Israelis, but leased to a Japanese firm from a British company partly owned by an Israeli national. On the day of its capture, the cargo ship left a port in Turkey and headed for India. On board were 25 crew members of different nationalities, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos, and Mexicans. The crew members were released only in January this year, and allowed to leave for Oman.