Israel strikes Houthi targets including hijacked Galaxy Leader

ISRAEL has attacked several Houthi targets in three Yemeni ports including the Galaxy Leader (IMO: 9237307), a car carrier hijacked by the Iran-backed rebel group in 2023.

The strikes on Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif ports, and Ras Qantib power plant in the early hours of Monday came just a few hours after the first confirmed Houthi attack on commercial shipping since December 2024.

The Liberia-flagged Magic Seas (IMO: 9736169) was attacked about 51 nautical miles off Hodeidah on Sunday by several skiffs with small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades, forcing the crew and armed guards to abandon ship.

Hours after the attack, Israel’s defence minister wrote on the social media platform X that Israel had “forcefully” struck Houthi-linked targets, including Galaxy Leader which the Israeli Defence Forces said had been used for “terror activities” in the Red Sea.

A statement from the IDF claimed that “Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and has been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities”.

Galaxy Leader has been anchored at Ras Isa port since its capture in December 2023. It is currently unknown whether there were any casualties in the attack and the extent of the damage to the ship is unclear.

No crew were injured in the attack on Magic Seas and both crew and armed guards were rescued by Safeen Prism (IMO: 9603611) after they abandoned ship on Sunday.

The attacks on Magic Seas started fires in the forecastle near the ship’s bow and in its second hold, according to the vessel’s owners Stem Shipping.

The vessel’s fuel tanks were damaged and the engine room hit, leaving it taking on water.

Michael Bodouroglou, Stem Shipping’s chief executive, told the Financial Times that the ship had been carrying a mixture of steel products and fertiliser from China to Turkey and insisted the current voyage had no links to Israel.