Shipping companies expressed caution about using the shorter route between Asia and Europe that many ships have avoided for more than a year.

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.

Houthi rebels have backed the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, with the Yemeni group’s spokesperson saying they will halt their military operations against Israel as well as commercial ships in the Red Sea if the truce comes into force on Sunday.

The Yemeni rebel group says it will stop targeting vessels that transit 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.

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.