Iran-backed Houthi terrorists, who recently carried out several failed missile and drone strikes aimed at Israel, hijacked a British ship partially owned by an Israeli businessman.
The ship, carrying cargo from Turkey to India, is reportedly connected to Israeli shipping mogul Abraham Ungar. “Israeli officials insisted the ship was British-owned and Japanese-operated. However, ownership details in public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel,” the Associated Press reported.
The cargo ship passing though the Red Sea was reportedly seized in a helicopter raid by Houthis, a Yemen-based Islamic terror group that Biden White House removed from the list of designated terrorist groups in 2021 — revering a Trump-era decision. “Militants believed to be Iranian-backed Houthi rebels used a helicopter raid to seize a Japanese cargo ship in the southern Red Sea, said three U.S. officials,” the NBC News reported Sunday.
The Jerusalem Post reported:
A cargo ship partially owned by an Israeli businessman was hijacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea on Sunday, Israel confirmed on Sunday, accusing Iran of directing the maritime piracy.The cargo ship, Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, was leased from a British company partly owned by Israeli Rami Unger to a Japanese company.The ship left a port in Turkey headed for India and sailed under the flag of the Bahamas. The Foreign Ministry said it was aware of the incident.On board the ship are 25 crew members of different nationalities, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos, and Mexicans. No Israelis were onboard, the ministry said.
With Hamas taking a beating in Gaza, its Iranian paymasters cheered the Islamic terror group for fighting the Israeli military advance. “Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday Israel has suffered a “defeat” in its war against Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas, and that it was “a fact”,” the French news agency AFP reported Sunday.
Iran-backed terrorist groups Hezbollah and Houthi have stepped up attacks on Israel amid Tehran’s threats to widen the conflict against the Jewish State in wake of Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
Israeli military is expanding its ground operations amid media reports that terrorist group Hamas’s Gaza-based leadership duo has fled to the south. Hamas’s Gaza chief, Yehya Sinwar, and Hamas’s Al Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, have managed to escape to the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis after IDF troops captured large part of northern Gaza.
The IDF is determined to locate these two terrorists who are among the main culprits behind the October 7 massacre of more than 1200 Israelis, the news website Ynet reported Saturday night:
IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in his daily statement, regarding the report stating that Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and the head of the military wing, Mohammed Deif, fled to Khan Yunis, that IDF is hunting them around the clock. “Military Intelligence, the Air Force, Southern Command – around the clock, we are searching for them,” he said. “And we are also reaching them, wherever they are.” He emphasized, ‘Anywhere in the Gaza Strip, we will target anyone involved in attacks, and certainly the leaders of Hamas.”
As the ground offensive entered its fourth week, the IDF is gearing up to flush out Hamas from the entire terror-infested enclave, Israeli media reports say.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday confirmed that the military was preparing to take on Hamas’s terror strongholds in the south, The Times of Israel reported:
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says in a primetime press conference that the IDF is continuing to hit Hamas hard in the Strip and will also operate “soon” in the south of Gaza.“We are in the second stage of the ground invasion, also operating in the east of the Strip,” he says. “Hamas has been hit hard, it’s losing tunnels, bunkers, posts,” and many of its senior commanders have been killed, Gallant adds.“We are reaching all of the sites sensitive to Hamas and hitting them,” he says.“With every passing day, there are fewer places for the Hamas terrorists to move around,” he says.Those hiding out in the south of the Strip, where the IDF has yet to send in ground troops, “will feel this soon,” says Gallant.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists hiding in underground tunnel and civilian neighborhoods continue to fire rockets and mortars at advancing Israeli soldiers, taking the Israeli death toll to 65 since the IDF launched the operation ‘Swards of Iron’ in response to the mass-slaughter of civilians by terrorist intruders 43 days ago.
“The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the names of two more soldiers killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip. Captain (res.) Roey Biber and Sergeant Binyamin Meir Airly, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed to 65 since the ground operation began,” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported Sunday.
The IDF on Sunday brought war to Hamas as Israeli troops raided the mansions of terrorist leaders in central Gaza city’s luxurious neighborhood of Rimal.
“Unprecedented Israeli bombardment lays waste to upscale Rimal,” the Associated Press noted, as Israeli troops took over the area in house-to-house fighting. Most of the Hamas leaders have fled Gaza city or left for friendly Arab countries, but their homes continue to be used as command and control centers for terrorists conducting attacks against Israeli soldiers.
The IDF released the details of the anti-terror raid on Saturday:
IDF soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade, together with the Armored Corps, Engineering Corps and the Israeli Air Force, operated in the Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal areas in order to identify and destroy Hamas infrastructure and assets. During the operations, the soldiers located approximately 35 tunnel shafts as well as a large number of weapons and eliminated terrorists.Additionally, the soldiers operated in a Hamas military base belonging to the terrorist organization’s military intelligence unit. During the operation, IDF soldiers located ammunition depots and seven rocket launchers.Embedded in the Rimal area are the residences of senior Hamas officials, who took control of the buildings in the area to conduct and direct terrorist activities. Military posts and Hamas infrastructure are also located in the area.https://twitter.com/JoeTruzman/status/1726257542643449865
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