TEHRAN- Following the seizure by Yemeni naval forces of the cargo ship, Galaxy Leader, in the southern Red Sea on Sunday, Israeli officials were quick to claim that it was British-owned and Japanese-operated.

"This is not an Israeli ship," the Israeli military insisted. 

Information in the public domain suggests otherwise. 

The Galaxy Leader was chartered by Japan's Nippon Yusen, on voyage from Turkey to India, and its crew is made up of different nationals. 

The ownership details of Galaxy Leader in public shipping databases connects the ship's owners to Ray Car Carriers, a company founded by Abraham "Rami" Ungar, who is considered one of the wealthiest Israeli men in the occupied Palestinian territories and with links to the political hierarchy. 

According to the Paradise Papers, a major leak of confidential documents in 2017 that exposed enormous wealth and ownerships unknown to the world before, Ray Car Carriers' beneficial owner appears to be the Israeli billionaire Rami Ungar. 

Scrolling through the London Stock Exchange Group, where the "benefits section" on its website for shipping includes "maritime and port data, freight analysis, news and the tools you need to understand the latest transportation," shows that Galaxy Leader is owned by a company registered under Ray Car Carriers, which is also a unit of Tel Aviv-incorporated Ray Shipping. 

Global Maritime company Ambrey has also reported that "the vehicles carrier's group owner is listed as Ray Car Carriers", whose company belongs to the Israeli tycoon. 

According to Haaretz, Abraham "Rami" Ungar is one of the regime's richest individuals, with a total net worth of more than $2 billion.

He is an international shipping mogul and one of the biggest motor vehicle importers in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Ungar also had close ties to right-wing Israeli politicians for quite a long time. He was also linked to political scandals stretching back to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The Israeli billionaire told the Associated Press he was aware of the incident but could not comment as he was awaiting further details. 

Despite the Israeli denials, all the shipping lanes over the Galaxy Leader lead to Tel Aviv. 

The anger of the United States about the incident is reflected in the logic of its leadership. 

What is much more significant to the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is any disruption to shipping in major waterways such as the Red Sea, which could see oil prices rising significantly. 

Critics say that with a general election coming up in the U.S., Biden couldn't care less about the more than 12,000 Palestinians killed, the vast majority of them being women and children. The only aim of the man sitting in the White House is to try and keep oil prices steady. 

The rest is collateral damage. 

The cargo ship captured by Ansarullah's naval forces is believed to be currently held in Yemen's Hodeidah port.

Japan, which chartered the ship, has said it is "directly reaching out" to Yemen's Ansarullah movement as well as a number of regional countries. 

Japanese chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government was doing its utmost for an "early release" of the ship and its crew.

Ansarullah military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the seizure of the ship was in response to the "heinous acts against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza and the West Bank".

"If the international community is concerned about regional security and stability, rather than expanding the conflict, it should put an end to the Israeli aggression against Gaza,” he wrote in a post on social media. 

Last week, the Ansarullah leadership said their forces would conduct further attacks on Israeli military sites, and they could target Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Earlier on Sunday, the government in Sana'a said all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies, or carrying the Israeli flag, could be targeted.

Ansarullah's military forces shared footage showing how it seized the ship after soldiers dropped from a helicopter down onto the deck. 

After seizing the ship, Ansarullah described it as Israeli and said, "We are treating the ship's crew in accordance with humanitarian principles and values." 

The armed forces of the movement have been launching long-range precision missiles as well as drone salvoes, on a regular basis, at Israeli military targets in the occupied Palestinian territories in solidarity with the people of Gaza. 

In one instance, the Israeli military said it had used its Arrow aerial system to try and intercept a missile in the vicinity of the Red Sea after air raid sirens had sounded in the settlement of Eilat.

Most of the long-range Yemeni missiles and drones have been directed at Eilat, which the occupying regime has turned into a military fortress. 

The distance from Yemen to the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories is more than 2,000 kilometers. 

The movement has said it will continue attacks on Israeli targets until the unprecedented bombardment on Gaza comes to an end. 

Ansarullah leader Abdulmalik al Houthi said his forces will be "especially" paying attention to the Bab al-Mandab - a strait that separates Yemen and Djibouti, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

"Our eyes are open to constantly monitor and search for any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, especially in Bab al-Mandab, and near Yemeni regional waters," he said. 

Al-Houthi said, "The Israeli occupation is committing the most heinous crimes against the Palestinian people," noting that the targeting of residential neighborhoods and hospitals, and the fall of thousands of children in horrifying scenes, reveal "the criminal tendency of the Zionist enemy". 

During a speech, he added that "part of the barbarism of the Israeli enemy is its focus on hospitals," and stressed that "since the beginning of the barbaric Zionist aggression against Gaza, the position of our people has been clear and honorable."

Yemen's Ansarullah announced from the first day of the Israeli war on Gaza that it "officially stands with the Palestinian people at all levels, including militarily, to support them". 

Analysts say that since the Yemeni announcement on targeting the regime's ships, the Israeli occupation has been hiding the identity of its vessels in the Red Sea and is trying its best to camouflage them in what experts say highlights the strength and influence of Ansarallah.

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