Israel says Yemen’s Houthis have hijacked a ship in the Red Sea.

The Israeli government said on Sunday that Yemen’s Houthi militia had hijacked a ship in the Red Sea.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia, about the alleged hijacking. Just hours earlier, they had issued a statement threatening to target Israeli-flagged, owned and operated ships transiting the Red Sea. In the same statement, the Houthis warned countries to withdraw their nationals working on such ships, avoid their cargo and sail away from such ships.

The Israeli military on Sunday called the event a “serious event” and said the ship was bound for India from Turkey and had an “international crew, without Israelis.”

“This is not an Israeli ship,” the military said in a statement.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reiterated this in its own statement, saying the ship was British-owned and operated by a Japanese company. There were 25 crew members on board, said the statement, which condemned the attack without naming the ship.

News reports identified the ship as the Galaxy Leader, which had no apparent ties to Israel. The ship was flagged in the Bahamas – a popular place for ship registration due to tax breaks – and is listed as a vehicle carrier owned by an Isle of Man-based firm called Ray Car Carriers Ltd, according to Marine Traffic, a real-time maritime data platform.

According to the Paradise Papers, the company’s ultimate owner appears to have once been Israeli billionaire Rami Ungar, a major leak of confidential documents that exposed a hidden world of wealth and property. Mr Ungar – who is routinely cited in maritime trade media as the ultimate owner of Ray Car Carriers – did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 180-meter-long Galaxy Leader left the Turkish port of Korfez on November 12 and was bound for Pipavav, India, according to Marine Traffic. The satellite last transmitted its location Saturday morning from the center of the Red Sea, off the coasts of Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

Support for the Palestinian cause and hostility toward Israel have long been a pillar of the Houthi narrative. Since the Israeli army began bombing Gaza — in response to Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, the Iran-backed armed group that controls Gaza — Houthi leaders have repeatedly threatened to join the fighting. Last month, the Houthis claimed an attempted attack on southern Israel and said the group could attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis took over the Yemeni capital Sana in 2014. After a failed attempt by a Saudi-led military coalition to rout it, the group now rules much of northern Yemen.

Shuaib Almosawa reporting contributed.