The Saudi-led Arab coalition said on Tuesday that the launch of acts of piracy and hijacking from any sea port make the facility a legitimate military target.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said the Iran-backed Houthi militias hijacked on Sunday the UAE-flagged Rwabee ship off Yemen's coast of Hodeidah in a criminal act that was pre-planned.
The militias hijacked the vessel by force and have taken it to the al-Salif port in Hodeidah, he added.
The hijacking is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian and marine laws, he continued.
The Rwabee was carrying medical equipment from a Saudi field hospital that completed its functions on Socotra island.
Malki cited international treaties and agreements, including the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, that safeguard freedom of navigation and trade in international waters.
These agreements do not offer safe haven to pirates, he declared. Such terrorist acts undermine the safety of international waterways and are a direct threat to navigation and global trade.
Moreover, the hijacking is a violation of the 2018 Stockholm agreement on Hodeidah, he said, revealing that the Houthis have deliberately committed over 30,527 violations of the deal.
Malki demanded that the Houthis to release the Rwabee and its entire humanitarian non-combat cargo.
Should they refuse to comply, then all ports from which acts of piracy and hijacking are launched will be legitimate military targets in line with international humanitarian and relevant marine laws, he said.
