The story: A ship linked to an Israeli tycoon and its international crew have been captured by Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, better known as the Houthis. Israel has blamed the incident in the Red Sea on Iran, although Tehran denies any involvement. Meanwhile, Tel Aviv is also avoiding any reference to the apparent Israeli ownership of the vessel—possibly with the aim of reducing pressure to retaliate. The threat to Israeli civilian shipping highlights the broader repercussions of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza.

The incident: Galaxy Leader was traveling from Turkey to India when it was seized by Houthi fighters rappelling from a helicopter on Nov. 19. Built in 2002, the 189.2-meter-long vessel is a vehicle carrier sailing under...