SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 19 April 2024, Friday |

Missile damages Israel-owned ship in the Gulf, Israeli media says

Israel’s Channel 12 news published on its website that a cargo ship owned by an Israeli company was damaged by an Iranian missile in the Arabian Sea earlier today, Reuters reported.
The report said the ship, sailing from Tanzania to India, was able to continue its voyage.
According to the report the ship is owned by XT Management, based in the port city of Haifa.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the incident or reach officials at the company for comment. A spokeswoman at Israel’s Foreign Ministry said they were checking the report.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman.
The vehicle-carrier MV Helios Ray was hit between the night of 25 February and morning of 26 February by a blast above the water line that a US official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull. An Israeli official said limpet mines were used.
Iran denied involvement at the time. “We strongly reject this accusation,” Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Tehran.