Yemen's Houthi rebels release crew of commercial vessel seized in Red Sea in November 2023

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels said Wednesday they 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 move by the Iranian-backed Houthis marks their latest effort to de-escalate their attacks following a ceasefire in Gaza. It also comes as U.S. President Donald Trump likely weighs whether to reinstate a terrorism designation he made on the group that had been revoked by President Joe Biden.

The rebels said they released the sailors after mediation by Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that's long been an interlocutor with the Houthis. Oman did not immediately acknowledge the release, though an Omani Royal Air Force jet took a flight to Yemen earlier Wednesday and took off again about an hour after the Houthi announcement.

The Houthis also said Hamas separately requested the release of the ship's crew of 25, who included mariners from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico.

“This step comes in support of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza,” the Houthis said in a statement on rebel-controlled SABA news agency.

Hans Grundberg, the United Nations’ special envoy to Yemen, called the crew’s release “heartwarming news that puts an end to the arbitrary detention and separation that they and their families endured for more than a year.”

“This is a step in the right direction, and I urge Ansar Allah to continue these positive steps on all fronts, including ending all maritime attacks,” he added, using another name for the Houthis.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the release of the multinational crew, including two Bulgarians identified by officials as the ship’s captain, Lyubomir Chanev, and assistant captain, Danail Veselinov. A government jet was on the way to Oman to bring the Bulgarians home, the ministry said.

Vessel's link to Israeli billionaire

The Houthi rebels said they hijacked the Galaxy Leader over its connection to Israel. They then had a campaign targeting ships in international waters, which only stopped with the recent ceasefire in Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

A representative for the Galaxy Leader's owners had no immediate comment on Wednesday.

The Bahamas-flagged vessel is affiliated with an Israeli billionaire Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel.

The Houthi attack on the Galaxy Leader saw the rebels launched a helicopter-borne raid. Propaganda footage of the raid has been played constantly by the Houthis, who even shot a music video aboard the ship at one point.

On Monday, the Houthis signaled they now will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships after a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip, but warned wider assaults could resume if needed.

However, it likely won’t be enough to encourage global firms to reenter the route that’s crucial for cargo and energy shipments moving between Asia and Europe. Their attacks have halved traffic through the region, cutting deeply into revenues for Egypt, which runs the Suez Canal linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.

The release of the vessel's crew now may be an effort to curry favor with the U.S., though the ship still remains moored off the Yemeni port city of Hodeida.

“This gesture by the Houthis may be intended as a goodwill measure towards the new Trump administration, potentially aiming to delay their designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” said Yemen expert Mohammed al-Basha, of the Basha Report risk advisory firm.

Houthi attacks targeted over 100 commercial ships

The Houthis have targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.

The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.

The rebels had maintained that they only targeted ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. However, many of the ships attacked had little or no connection, including some bound for Iran.

The tempo of Houthi attacks has slowed in recent weeks, particularly involving ships at sea. That may be due in part to the U.S. airstrike campaign. The U.S. and its partners alone have struck the Houthis over 260 times, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants but say women and children make up more than half the fatalities.