Fact Check: Hijack footage of Israeli ship by Houthi rebels falsely linked to Yemeni Navy
The video shows Houthi rebels, not Yemeni Naval forces, seizing an Israeli ship.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 30 Aug 2024 6:49 PM IST
Claim: The video shows Yemeni Naval forces capturing an Israeli ship.
Fact: The claim is false. The footage shows Houthi rebels.
Hyderabad: Amid recent incidents of military tension between Yemen and Israel, especially following the attacks on Gaza, a video has gone viral on social media, claiming to show Yemeni Naval forces capturing an Israeli tanker.
An X user shared the video with the caption, āYemeni Armed Forces published scenes of the qualitative military operation of the Yemeni naval forces detaining the Israeli ship, controlling it and taking it to the Yemeni coast. (sic)ā (Archive)
The 2:20-minute-long video begins with a helicopter, emblazoned with Yemeni and Palestinian flags, landing on a container ship after which men with security attire and weapons take control of the ship.
Similar posts can be seen here and here. (Archive), (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false.
A reverse image search traced the video to an X post shared on November 20, 2023, by Press TV, which featured the same footage with the caption, āWATCH: Yemen releases video footage showing the moment the Yemeni army seizes an Israeli-flagged ship in the Red Sea. (sic)ā
This indicated that the video was old.
Further, a keyword search led to a video report by Al Jazeera English, dated November 21, 2023, titled āYemenās Houthis release video reportedly showing hijacking of Israeli cargo shipā. The report featured the viral footage of the seizure.
The report also featured a statement from Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree, who warned that any ships affiliated with Israel or its allies would become targets. Hamas representative Osama Hamdan was also shown in the video, thanking the Houthis for their stance against Israel.
Another report by The Guardian, titled āYemenās Houthi Rebels Seize Cargo Ship in Red Sea and Call Israeli Vessels āLegitimate Targets,āā was published on November 20, 2023 and featured the same video.
The report confirmed that Yemenās Houthi rebels had seized what they referred to as an Israeli cargo ship in the Red Sea.
We also found a report by News Drum titled āUS Navy Destroys 4 Houthi Vessels in the Red Sea, Safeguarding International Shipping Lanes,ā published on December 31, 2023, which featured a photo from the viral video.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), are a militant political and religious group that champions the rights of Yemenās Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis.
Founded in the 1990s and named after their late leader, Hussein al-Houthi, the group identifies as part of the Iranian-led āaxis of resistance.ā This alliance opposes Israel, the United States, and the broader Western world and includes other armed organizations like Hamas and Lebanonās Hezbollah.
Hence, the claim that Yemeni Naval forces captured Israeli ships is false. The video in question is old and shows Houthi rebels seizing an Israeli cargo ship in the Red Sea.
