The United Nations on Friday suspended all travel into areas held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels after seven more of their staff were detained by the rebels.

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,

The release is one of several overtures in recent days aimed at easing tensions after the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who are poised to return to the US terrorism blacklist, released more than 150 prisoners of war in tearful scenes on Saturday.

Yemen's Houthi rebels unilaterally released 153 'conflict-related' detainees from Yemen's capital city of Sana'a, according to the statement released by the International Committee of the Red Cross

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 move will authorize harsher penalties on the Iran-backed group, which has attacked Israel and disrupted global shipping trade in the Red Sea for over a year.

CAIRO (Reuters) - 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. The identities of the prisoners were not disclosed, but the ICRC said they received regular visits by the organization in Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Yemen's Huthi rebels accused Washington on Thursday of designating them a terrorist group for supporting the Palestinian people, their stated motive for months of attacks on Israel and in the Red Sea.

The United Nations’ special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, met on Sunday with a senior Houthi official in Oman and called for the release of UN staff

The Houthis have turned extortion into a structured business, offering shipowners a 'customer-relations' email address to negotiate payments for safe passage