The group says it will stop attacking ships linked to Israel when all phases of the Gaza ceasefire agreement are completed.
Yemen’s Houthis will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to ships linked to Israel only as long as the ceasefire in Gaza is fully implemented, the group said, potentially reducing disruptions that have affected global maritime trade for more than a year. anus.
The Sana’a-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC), which serves as a liaison between Houthi forces and commercial shipping operators, said on Sunday it was suspending “sanctions” against ships owned by US entities and British, as well as against ships sailing under the two countries. flags of the countries.
“We affirm that, in the event of any aggression against the Republic of Yemen by the United States of America, the United Kingdom or the usurping Israeli entity, sanctions will be reinstated against the aggressor,” he said in an email sent to officials of the shipping industry on Sunday.
The HOCC said the Houthis would only stop attacking Israeli-linked ships “when all phases of the agreement have been fully implemented.”
A Houthi spokesman had told Al Jazeera on Sunday that the group would stop its military operations against Israel, as well as commercial ships in the Red Sea, if the truce came into effect on Sunday.
A ceasefire agreed by Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas to stop the 15-month war in Gaza went into effect on Sunday and will take place in three phases over several weeks.
In response to Israel’s war on Gaza, the Iran-backed Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023, sinking two vessels and killing at least four sailors.
The Houthis attacked the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, joined by the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, disrupting international trade on the shortest sea route. between Europe and Asia.
Many of the world’s largest shipping companies suspended voyages through the Red Sea last year and diverted their ships around the southern tip of Africa to avoid being attacked.
The Houthis have also carried out direct attacks against Israel.
In response, the United Kingdom and the United States carried out numerous strikes against targets inside Yemen to deter the Houthis. Washington has also imposed sanctions on the rebel group.
For its part, Israel has bombed several Houthi-controlled power plants and ports, including the port of Hodeidah, considered a lifeline for the war-torn nation.
Retail and insurance company executives told Reuters news agency last week that they were not ready to return to the Red Sea because of uncertainty over whether the Houthis would continue attacking ships.
Although the number of ships attacked is low relative to the volume of traffic, the rebel group’s strategy was effective in increasing shipping costs, including insurance and salaries for sailors working in high-risk areas.
In particular, higher hazard insurance premiums have meant additional costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a seven-day voyage for any ship sailing through the area.
Reuters quoted a spokesman for German container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd as saying on Monday that the company was still monitoring the situation and stating that “we will return to the Red Sea when it is safe to do so.”
Jakob Larsen, security director at shipping association BIMCO, said that “assuming the ceasefire holds… shipping companies are expected to gradually resume operations through the Red Sea.”
