DUBAI, October 11. /TASS/. Leader of Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has ordered to halt strikes on Israeli territory as well as on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as long as Israel observes a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, a source in the movement told TASS.

"All operations against the Israeli adversary and related merchant vessels have been halted because the active phase of the Gaza war is over. The leader ordered to monitor as to how Israel observes the agreement. Yemen’s further actions on supporting Palestinians will depend on it," the source said.

Indirect talks between the delegations of Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian Hamas movement resumed in Sharm el-Sheikh late on October 6, with Egypt, Qatar and the United States acting as mediators. Hamas and Israel have already exchanged, through the mediators, the lists of hostages and prisoners who are expected to be released under the Gaza deal.

On October 9, US President Donald Trump stated that representatives of Israel and Hamas had signed agreements on the first stage of the peace plan following negotiations in Egypt. According to Trump, this includes the release of all hostages in the near future and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed line within the Gaza Strip. He added that the first steps have been taken "toward a strong, durable, and everlasting peace."

On the evening of October 9, Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian stated at a briefing that 53% of the enclave’s territory would remain under Israeli military control. She added that a 72-hour window would then open, during which all Israeli hostages are expected to return home. This process should be completed by October 13.

Houthis’ actions

After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip in 2023, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestine’s group Hamas in the embattled enclave. The Houthis have attacked hundreds of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The attacks ceased following the introduction of a ceasefire regime in the Palestinian enclave in mid-January of this year. However, after the ceasefire was derailed in early March, the Houthis declared the resumption of strikes on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea and resumed their attempts to attack Israeli targets, including Ben Gurion Airport.