The Galaxy Leader, whose ownership is disputed, was seized for its connection to an Isreali billionaire, as footage shows Houthi rebels in Palestinian garb raid the ship
Gun-toting Hamas-loyalists stormed an 'Israeli cargo ship' and took at least 50 people hostage, depicted vividly in bodycam footage that looked like something from a Call of Duty game.
The Galaxy Leader, which the group say is Israeli-owned, was seized on Sunday (November 19) some 150 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of Yemen's port city of Hodeida, near the coast of Eritrea, before it was sailed to Yemen, flying the Yemeni and Palestinian flags on its deck.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels warned that it would continue to target ships in international waters that were linked to or owned by Israelis until the end of Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign in Gaza.
And wild footage soon emerged of the gang taking the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier affiliated with an Israeli billionaire, after being flown in by a helicopter emblazoned with the flags of Yemen and Palestine.
It then drops off the young men, decked out in Palestinian headwear, who then proceed to charge across the ship's deck.
The men take up strategic positions as they proceed to the innards of the ship, weilding their automatic rifles.
They take a number of people hostage, with estimates varying between 25 and 52.
"Hey I've played this one in Call of Duty before. This is just the end of Black Ops," responded one person on X, pointing out that the operation resembled a map in the popular game.
The commenter was referencing Wetwork', the third mission featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
Another commenter said: "This is some action movie sh*t."
A third added: "Why are they moving like it's a video game?"
Israeli officials insisted the ship was British-owned and Japanese-operated. However, ownership details in public shipping databases associated the ship's owners with Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Abraham "Rami" Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel.
Either way, Netanyahu warned of consequences. Netanyahu's office condemned the seizure as an "Iranian act of terror." The Israeli military called the hijacking a "very grave incident of global consequence."
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