Hapag-Lloyd reiterated it will return to the Red Sea "when it is sufficiently safe to do so," while Maersk said it was too early to speculate.

Houthi, said the Iran-aligned group will monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and will continue its attacks on ships in the Red Sea if it is breached.

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.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they will cease attacks on Israel and on merchant shipping in the Red Sea as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect

The second reason is politics. The Houthis have made it clear that any re-opening of the route is contingent on the modalities and progress of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the implementation of which began on Sunday. “There are still many ifs and buts to the situation,” the executive said.

Israel and Hamas announced a ceasefire on Wednesday, leading to speculation that the Yemen-based Houthis — who began attacking commercial ships in late 2023 ostensibly in retaliation for Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip — might call off the broadsides for good.

Operations at a Red Sea port in Yemen used for aid imports have fallen to about a quarter of its capacity, a UN official said on Tuesday, adding it was not certain that a Gaza ceasefire would end attacks between the Iran-backed Houthis and Israel.

One of the Israeli hostages freed on the first day of the Gaza ceasefire said Monday in her first comments since being released that she has “returned to life.”

Hamas remained in power through four previous wars with Israel. With help from Iran it steadily enhanced its capabilities, extended the range of its rockets and built deeper and longer tunnels to hide from Israeli airstrikes. By Oct. 7, 2023, it had an army of tens of thousands in organized battalions.

Houthis in Yemen have released the 25 crew members of the cargo ship Galaxy Leader, which it seized in November 2023 when an organized campaign of attacks on ships in the Red Sea began, linked to the war in Gaza.

The airstrip is positioned on Abd al-Kuri Island which sits on a key waterway in the Gulf of Aden. Images depicting a nearly completed airstrip on a remote island in Yemen have analysts worried. While the runway is likely built by the United Arab Emirates,