The Houthis had signaled Friday night they planned a release of prisoners, part of their efforts to ease tensions after the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The move will authorize harsher penalties on the Iran-backed group, which has attacked Israel and disrupted global shipping trade in the Red Sea for over a year.

Yemen's Houthi rebel group said that its release of war prisoners on Sunday is a goodwill gesture aimed at advancing prisoner exchanges, which is one of the most complex issues in the Yemeni conflict,

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.

President Trump announced on Wednesday that he is once again designating the Houthi rebels in Yemen as a terrorist organization. Why it matters: Trump's decision reverses a decision by then-President Biden in 2021 to remove the terrorist designation from the Houthis.

Yemen's Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels on Saturday released 153 war detainees in the militia-controlled capital Sana'a, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "This operation has brought much-needed relief and joy to families who have been anxiously waiting for the return of their loved ones,