The Galaxy Leader was taken in November 2023 at the start of the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.
MSC, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, Hapag-Lloyd AG and CMA CGM Group have all been hesitant to resume operations in the Red Sea.
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.
Israel and Hamas announced a ceasefire on Wednesday, leading to speculation that the Yemen-based Houthis — who began attacking commercial ships in late 2023 ostensibly in retaliation for Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip — might call off the broadsides for good.
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.
Operations at a Red Sea port in Yemen used for aid imports have fallen to about a quarter of its capacity, a UN official said on Tuesday, adding it was not certain that a Gaza ceasefire would end attacks between the Iran-backed Houthis and Israel.
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
In the days since the fragile ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Israeli soldiers and vehicles were fanned out in the muddy streets Thursday as displaced Palestinian families left the area — some carrying suitcases, pets and other belongings.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier seized in November 2023 at the start of their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.
The battlefield in Gaza also is changing. The first phase of the ceasefire allows Gaza’s nearly 2 million displaced people to leave crowded tent camps and return to what remains of their homes. This will allow Hamas to regroup in the midst of masses of civilians.