The coalition now demands the withdrawal of STC forces from the two governorates, with local authorities back to overseeing them, and the handover of their military camps. File
| Photo Credit: AP

This image released by the state-run Oman News Agency show the crew of the Galaxy Leader arriving in Muscat, Oman, after being released by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on January 22, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday (January 22, 2025) 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. However, it came as U.S. President Donald Trump moved to reinstate a terrorism designation he made on the group late in his first term that President Joe Biden had revoked, potentially setting the stage for new tensions with the rebels.

The Houthis 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. A Royal Air Force of Oman jet took a flight to Yemen earlier Wednesday and took off again about an hour after the Houthi announcement with the crew, who smiled as they stepped off into freedom in Muscat.

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.

World leaders react

In the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed the release of 17 Filipino crew members, describing the moment as an “utmost joy.” The Filipinos, who were in the custody of the Philippine Embassy in Muscat, Oman, would be flown home soon, Mr. Marcos said.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the release of 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.

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.

Israel connection

The Houthis said they hijacked the Galaxy Leader over its connection to Israel. The attack launched the rebels’ campaign targeting ships in international waters in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that connects them.

A representative for the Galaxy Leader’s owners had no 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 launch 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.

Crucial route

However, it likely won’t be enough to encourage global firms to reenter the route 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 have been an effort to curry favour 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,” said Yemen expert Mohammed al-Basha, of the Basha Report risk advisory firm.

Terrorist designation

However, Trump signed an order urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reinstate a foreign terrorist organisation designation on the Houthis. Mr. Rubio separately called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, who have led a coalition battling the Houthis since 2015.

“Under President Trump, it is now the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate the Houthis’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and thereby end their attacks on U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners, and maritime shipping in the Red Sea,” the White House said.

Mr. Biden lifted the designation early in his term, citing the humanitarian threat that the sanctions posed to ordinary Yemenis and to back an de facto ceasefire that still broadly holds in Yemen’s war.

Syrian naval vessels and small civilian ships are seen destroyed by an Israeli airstrike last week in the port of Latakia, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. AP/PTI(AP12_14_2024_000446B)
| Photo Credit: AP

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have signalled they will now limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships, just as a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip entered its second day Monday (January 20, 2025).

The Houthis’ announcement, made in an email sent to shippers and others on Sunday (January 19, 2025), 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 Houthis separately planned a military statement on Monday (January 20, 2025), likely about the decision.

The Houthis made the announcement through their Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centre, saying it was “stopping sanctions” on the other vessels it has previously targeted since November 2023.

For Israeli ships, those “sanctions … will be stopped upon the full implementation of all phases” of the ceasefire, it added.

However, the center left open resuming attacks against both the United States and the United Kingdom, which have launched airstrikes targeting the rebels over their seaborne assaults.

“In the event of any aggression … the sanctions will be reinstated against the aggressor state,” the center said. “You will be promptly informed of such measures should they be implemented.”

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. 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.

The Iranian-backed 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 target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked had little or no connection to the conflict, 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.

However, the rebels had continued to launch drones and missiles targeting Israel, which has warned it will continue to strike Houthi leadership.

It also remains unclear how President Donald Trump will handle Yemen after he is inaugurated Monday. He may reapply a foreign terrorist organization designation on the Houthis that President Joe Biden revoked, which could spark attacks again.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sultan of Oman Haitham Bin Tarik hold bilateral talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: ANI

India and Oman will sign a trade deal in the coming months, two Indian government officials said, as New Delhi seeks to expand its ties in the Middle East, where rising tensions are putting major shipping routes at risk.

“It will help India with a strategic partner and access to key trade routes in a volatile region,” one official told Reuters.

India and Oman have annual trade of less than $13 billion, but the relationship is important for New Delhi as the Gulf nation is a gateway to the narrow Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran, a major transit point for global oil shipments.

Also Read | India, Oman in talks for comprehensive economic partnership agreement

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has spread to hostilities with Iran, and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea area, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

The trade deal requires the approval of the government that wins India’s ongoing national elections, whose results are to be announced on June 4, the officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to win a rare third term.

The officials asked not to be named as the discussions are private.

Also Read | India, Oman to cooperate in the field of archives

India’s trade and Foreign Ministries and Oman’s embassy in India and Foreign Ministry did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Making little progress on a deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), India has pivoted to seeking bilateral deals with GCC member nations such as Oman and United Arab Emirates.

The planned deal with Oman “also gives a competitive edge as GCC is negotiating trade agreements with Pakistan and China,” the official said.

Also Read | A time-honoured connect that will help bridge the Gulf 

Oman has agreed to eliminate duties on Indian exports worth an annual $3 billion including agricultural products, gems and jewellery, leather, automobiles, medical devices, engineering products and textiles, the officials said

India has agreed to reduce duties on some petrochemicals, aluminium and copper from Oman, while capping imports of such goods, the officials said.

Armed Houthi followers. Image used for representative purpose only.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Friday set off explosions ahead of a Singapore-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Aden, authorities said.

The attack targeted the bulk carrier Propel Fortune, which continued on its way, according to the United States military’s Central Command.

“The missiles did not impact the vessel,” Central Command said. “There were no injuries or damages reported.”

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. A statement from Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree was delayed Friday night over “urgent military developments in the theatre of military operations,” according to the rebel-controlled SABA news agency. He was scheduled to speak Saturday.

Early Saturday, the U.S. Navy, allied warships and aircraft shot down 15 bomb-carrying Houthi drones in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, American officials said.

Friday’s explosions came after a Houthi missile struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, killing three of its crew members and forcing survivors to abandon the vessel.

It was the first fatal strike in a campaign of assaults by the Iranian-backed group over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis describe the attacks as trying to pressure Israel into stopping the war, but their targets increasingly have little or nothing to do with the conflict.

Other recent Houthi actions include an attack in February on a fertiliser-carrying cargo ship, the Rubymar, which sank on Saturday after drifting for several days, and the downing of an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars.

The U.S. also conducted airstrikes Friday that it said destroyed two Houthi truck-mounted anti-ship missiles in Yemen. The rebels similarly did not directly acknowledge any destruction from those strikes.

The Houthis have held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014. They’ve battled a Saudi-led coalition since 2015 in a long-stalemated war there. Since the U.S. began its airstrike campaign in January, the Houthis have acknowledged the killing of at least 22 of its fighters. One civilian has also been reported killed.

This picture taken on February 27, 2024 shows a speed boat and the Rubymar cargo ship (L) sinking off the coast of Yemen. Rubymar, a Belize-flagged, British-registered and Lebanese-operated cargo ship carrying combustible fertilizer, was damaged in a missile strike on February 25 claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea after days of taking on water, officials said on March 2, the first vessel to be fully destroyed as part of their campaign over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The sinking of the Rubymar comes as shipping through the crucial waterway for cargo and energy shipments moving from Asia and the Middle East to Europe has been affected by the Houthi attacks.

Already, many ships have turned away from the route. The sinking could see further detours and higher insurance rates put on vessels plying the waterway — potentially driving up global inflation and affecting aid shipments to the region.

The Belize-flagged Rubymar had been drifting northward after being attacked on Feb. 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government, as well as a regional military official, confirmed the ship sank. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as no authorization was given to speak to journalists about the incident.

The Rubymar’s Beirut-based manager could not be immediately reached for comment.

Yemen’s exiled government, which has been backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said the Rubymar sank late on March 1 as stormy weather took hold over the Red Sea. The vessel had been abandoned for 12 days after the attack, though plans had been made to try and tow the ship to a safe port.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who had claimed the ship sank almost instantly after the attack, did not immediately acknowledge the ship’s sinking.

The U.S. military’s Central Command previously warned the vessel’s cargo of fertilizer, as well as fuel leaking from the ship, could cause ecological damage to the Red Sea.

Explained | Who are Yemen’s Houthis?

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel-Hamas war. Those vessels have included at least one with cargo bound for Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor, and an aid ship later bound for Houthi-controlled territory.

Despite over a month of U.S.-led airstrikes, Houthi rebels remain capable of launching significant attacks. That includes the attack on the Rubymar and the downing of an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The Houthis insist their attacks will continue until Israel stops its combat operations in the Gaza Strip, which have enraged the wider Arab world and seen the Houthis gain international recognition.

However, In recent days, there has been a slowdown in attacks. The reason for that remains clear.