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.

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.

Prisoner releases have been seen as a bid to jump-start talks to end Yemen's war, which began when Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

Yemen's Houthis released 153 prisoners on Saturday with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the ICRC said in a statement. The identities of the prisoners were not disclosed,

Gaza Yemen’s Houthi rebels freed 153 prisoners of war on Saturday, the Red Cross said, one of several overtures in recent days to ease tensions after the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Earlier prisoner releases have been regarded as a way to jump-start talks on a permanent end to Yemen's

Around 153 prisoners were released by Yemen's Houthis on Saturday with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), according to a statement by the ICRC.