Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement has released the crew of a cargo ship more than a year after its fighters hijacked the vessel in the Red Sea, as part of its campaign of attacks in support of Hamas in its war against Israel.

The Houthis said over the weekend they would stop attacking transiting vessels as long as the cease-fire holds. But big-box ship operators said it would take some time before secu

The second reason is politics. The Houthis have made it clear that any re-opening of the route is contingent on the modalities and progress of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the implementation of which began on Sunday. “There are still many ifs and buts to the situation,” the executive said.

Houthi, said the Iran-aligned group will monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and will continue its attacks on ships in the Red Sea if it is breached.

Yemen's Houthi rebels announced they will direct attacks only towards Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea following a Gaza ceasefire. They halted previous sanctions on other vessels, having targeted about 100 since November 2023 amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.