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 Iranian-backed rebel group in Yemen made the announcement after the Houthis said they would scale back attacks given the cease-fire in the conflict in Gaza.

Yemen's Houthi movement says it has released the crew of the cargo ship Galaxy Leader, which its fighters seized in November 2023 at the start of their campaign of attacks on Red Sea shipping linked to the Gaza war.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have signaled they will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships as a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip takes hold.

At the start of the Houthis' campaign against Israel in solidarity with Gaza, helicopter-borne rebels stormed the vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader and detained its 25 international crew.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader more than a year after they seized the Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni Red Sea coast, Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported on Wednesday.

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

Maritime security officials said on Thursday they were expecting Yemen's Houthi militia to announce a halt in attacks on ships in the Red Sea, after a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza between Israel and the militant group Hamas.