SANAA, July 29, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Yemen's Iran-backed Huthis released footage Monday of missing crew members from the Eternity C cargo ship, which the rebels sank earlier this month, claiming in an accompanying statement to have "rescued" the mariners.

Earlier this month, the Huthis sank the Magic Seas and Eternity C cargo ships in the Red Sea, after a months-long hiatus in a campaign against maritime traffic they accuse of having links to Israel, launched over the Gaza war.

The European Union's Operation Aspides naval task force told AFP that 15 out of the 25 people on the ship were still missing -- with four of them presumed dead.

In the video, the Huthis showed pictures of 10 crew members they said they had "rescued".

"Eleven crew members were rescued at sea, including two injured who were provided with medical care. One body, found aboard the ship before it sank, was transported to the hospital morgue," the Huthis said in their statement.

The video appeared to show the moment the mostly-Filipino crew were pulled from the sea wearing life-jackets.

A man the Huthis said was an electrician was shown lying in bed and speaking in English. Aspides had said a Russian electrician onboard the ship had lost his leg.

The captive crew members, who appeared coached on what to say, were filmed saying the ship was headed to the Israeli port of Eilat and at the end of the video nine of them said in chorus: "We are sorry, Palestinians".

Last week, Human Rights Watch said the rebels were unlawfully detaining the crew and that their attacks on shipping amounted to war crimes. The United States has accused the Huthis of kidnapping the missing crew members.

The rebels previously held captive the mostly Filipino crew of the merchant ship Galaxy Leader for more than a year, before releasing them in January.

Rebel leader Abdelmalek al-Huthi had earlier justified the attacks on the two ships, saying they both belonged to companies serving Israeli ports.

Late on Sunday, the rebels said they would target any ship belonging to a company that dealt with Israeli ports -- despite a US truce signed in May that was supposed to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.