Israel strikes Houthi ports across Yemen, 'Galaxy Leader' ship
The IDF struck three Houthi-controlled naval ports, a power station, and a ship used for terror purposes docked in Yemen early Monday morning.
The Israel Air Force attacked the Hodeidah, Ras Issa, and Al-Salif ports. In a statement, the IDF noted that these three ports were "used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons of the Iranian regime that are used to carry out terrorist plots against the State of Israel and its allies."
Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the strikes were part of an IDF operation to eliminate Houthi terror infrastructure in Yemen.
'As part of Operation Black Flag, the IDF has now heavily attacked terrorist targets of the Houthi terrorist regime at the ports of Hodeidah, Al-Salif, and Ras Isa, the Ras Khatib power station, and the ship Galaxy Leader, which was hijacked by the Houthis about two years ago and is currently being used for terrorism in the Red Sea.'
According to the IDF, the Houthis installed a radar system on the Galaxy Leader and use it to track ships in the Red Sea. The vessel was hijacked by the Houthis in 2023; it is reportedly leased by a British company that is partially owned by an Israeli national, but it sails under the flag of the Bahamas.
The Galaxy Leader's crew was not heard from for months after they were taken by the Houthis, and were released in January 2025.
Houthi channels claimed that the group confronted the Israeli strike with missiles.
The Monday morning attack comes after the Houthis targeted an international commercial vessel for the first time in months.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that the incident happened about 50 nautical miles south of Hodeidah. The Magic Seas was first targeted on Sunday by gunfire and self-propelled grenades launched from eight small boats, with armed security on the ship returning fire.
All of the crew were later rescued and taken to safety.
Al-Masirah TV noted at the time that the release was carried out 'in support of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza' which had entered into effect at the time and would last until mid-March.
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