Yemen’s Houthi rebels released the 25-man crew of the Israel-linked MV Galaxy Leader on Wednesday one year after hijacking the vessel, the Houthi-owned Masirah TV reported.
The vessel is owned by Galaxy Maritime, which is indirectly owned by Israeli businessman Abraham Ungar. The Galaxy Leader was chartered to a Japanese company and flying a Bahamian flag when the Houthis hijacked it near the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Nov. 19.
The crew, who are nationals of the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico, were handed over to Oman, according to Galaxy Maritime.
The Houthis said on Sunday that they would limit their attacks on Red Sea shipping to commercial vessels owned by Israel or flying its flag according to the Yemen-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center. The announcement came one day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect.
The Houthis vowed in early December to target any Israel-bound ship in the Red Sea, regardless of its ownership.
From bases along the Yemeni coast, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked or harassed around 100 ships in the Red Sea as they traverse the Bab el-Mandeb Straits, a narrow maritime choke point between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.
The majority of the world’s oil passes through the strait from the Indian Ocean towards the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. Their attacks have brought the Port of Eilat to a standstill. Port management placed around one-quarter of the 120 workers on unpaid leave, cut back the work hours of 20 others in July. The attacks also had a devastating impact on Egypt as Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty recently confirmed that revenue from the Suez Canal has dropped 60%.
Since Hamas’s October 7 attack, the Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel. The majority have been intercepted before reaching Israeli airspace.
Israel launched several retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi positions, most recently on Jan. 10.
