JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels hijacked an Israeli-linked cargo ship on a key Red Sea shipping route on Sunday and took its 25 crew hostage, officials said. This fueled fears that regional tensions could further escalate due to the Israel-Hamas war and a new maritime front.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they hijacked the ship because of its ties to Israel and would continue to attack ships in international waters linked to or owned by Israelis until the end of Israel’s campaign against Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip .

“All ships belonging to or related to the Israeli enemy will become legitimate targets,” the Houthis said.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis’ chief negotiator and spokesman, later added in an online statement that Israelis only understand “the language of violence.”

“The detention of the Israeli ship is a practical step that proves the seriousness of the Yemeni Armed Forces in waging the naval battle, regardless of its costs and costs,” he added. “This is the beginning.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had blamed the Houthis for the attack on the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier linked to an Israeli billionaire. It was said there were no Israelis on board.

The ship’s Japanese operator, NYK Line, said the vessel had no cargo at the time of the hijacking. The crew members are from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico, NYK said.

Japan condemned the plane hijacking on Monday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the Japanese government is doing its utmost to secure the early release of the crew through negotiations with Houthi rebels, while also communicating with Israel and working with the governments of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iran.

The Houthis said they would treat the crew members “in accordance with their Islamic values,” but did not elaborate on what that meant.

Netanyahu’s office condemned the seizure as an “Iranian act of terrorism.” The Israeli military described the kidnapping as a “very serious incident of global concern.”

Israeli officials insisted the ship was British-owned and operated by Japan. However, ownership information in public shipping databases linked the ship’s owners to Ray Car Carriers, founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar, considered one of Israel’s richest men.

Ungar told the Associated Press he was aware of the incident but could not comment as he was awaiting details. An associated ship experienced an explosion in the Gulf of Oman in 2021. Israeli media at the time blamed Iran for this.

Authorities confirmed Monday that the Galaxy Leader’s captain and first officer were Bulgarian.

Bulgaria’s top police official Zhivko Kotsev told reporters that they were in contact with their families. “So far no one has contacted us,” he said.

International shipping often involves a number of management companies, flags and owners, spanning the globe on a single vessel.

Two US defense officials confirmed that Houthi rebels captured the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea on Sunday afternoon local time. The rebels arrived on the cargo ship by rappelling from a helicopter, the officials said, confirming details first reported by NBC News. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The seizure of the ship is similar to others previously carried out by Iran, which has long armed the Houthis.

Twice in the last month, U.S. warships have intercepted missiles or drones from Yemen that were believed to be heading toward Israel or posing a threat to American ships. The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, intercepted three land-attack cruise missiles and several drones fired by Houthi forces toward the northern Red Sea last month.

On November 15, the USS Thomas Hudner, another destroyer, was sailing toward the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait when the crew saw a drone that reportedly came from Yemen. The ship shot down the drone over the water. The officials said the crew took measures to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel and there were no casualties or damage to the ship.

Satellite tracking data from MarineTraffic.com analyzed by the AP showed the Galaxy Leader was in the Red Sea southwest of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, more than a day ago. The ship was in Korfez, Turkey, and en route to Pipavav, India, at the time of Israel’s reported seizure.

The data showed that the Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracker was turned off. Ships are supposed to keep their AIS active for security reasons, but crews will turn it off if it appears they may be targeted or smuggling contraband, which the Galaxy Leader does not immediately indicate is the case.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which warns sailors in the Persian Gulf and the wider region, believe the hijacking took place about 150 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, near the coast of Eritrea. A shipping company security official was later quoted as saying the ship had been taken to Hodeida.

The Red Sea, which stretches from Egypt’s Suez Canal to the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait that separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, remains a key trade route for global shipping and energy supplies. That is why the US Navy has stationed several ships in the sea since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7th.

A number of ships have been attacked at sea since 2019 as Iran began breaching all limits of its broken nuclear deal with world powers. As Israel expands its devastating campaign against Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip following the militant group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel, fears are growing that the military operations could escalate into a larger regional conflict.

The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to attack Israeli ships in waters off Yemen. Such attacks support both their Iranian benefactors and the Houthis’ position in Yemen, as anger against their rule has increased in recent months as that country’s civil war continues without resolution, said Gregory D. Johnsen, Yemen expert at Arabian Gulf States Institute in Washington.

“The Houthis see the war between Israel and Hamas as an opportunity to dampen some of this domestic criticism,” Johnsen wrote in an analysis earlier this month. “If they attack Israel, their local rivals will be less inclined to attack them.”

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Tara Copp in Washington, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Veselin Toshkov in Sofia contributed to this report.