On Sunday, an armed group, believed to be affiliated with the Houthis, took control of the "Central Park" oil tanker linked to Israel off the Yemeni city of Aden, according to "Agence France-Presse."

According to Haaretz newspaper, the tanker is owned by the Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer, through the Zodiac Maritime company, which is based in Britain. The ship, which left Morocco and crossed the Suez Canal on November 21, sent its last location on the 22nd November from a point south of Sharm El Sheikh.

Maritime security company Embry said that communications were intercepted from a US coalition warship warning Central Park, adding that another ship in the area reported “the approach of eight people on board two boats wearing military uniforms.”

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. Aden is controlled by forces allied with the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition, which has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels for years, according to the Associated Press.

There have been repeated incidents of attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, and officials in the US Department of Defense announced, yesterday, Saturday, that a container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire was attacked by a drone, believed to be Iranian, in the Indian Ocean.

The Houthis seized the “Galaxy Leader” ship, belonging to the Israeli businessman Rami Unger, in the Red Sea on November 19. At that time, the Houthis issued a warning to all “ships belonging to the Israeli enemy or dealing with it that they will become a legitimate target,” and called on “ all countries whose nationals work in the Red Sea must refrain from any work or activity with Israeli ships or ships owned by Israelis.

The Houthis confirmed in the statement that they will continue to “carry out military operations against the Israeli enemy until the aggression against the Gaza Strip stops, and the heinous crimes continuing until this moment against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza and the West Bank stop,” noting that “those who threaten the security and stability of the region and international corridors is the Zionist entity.”

Source: Alaraby Aljadeed