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.

Yemen's Huthi rebels have detained another seven UN employees, the United Nations chief said on Friday, their latest move to target aid workers. Following the latest swoop, the United Nations has suspended "all official movements into and within" areas held by Huthis,

European forces joined the US Navy last year in an effort to defend key shipping lanes from Houthi rebel attacks.

Shipping companies expressed caution about using the shorter route between Asia and Europe that many ships have avoided for more than a year.

Red Sea shipping remains risky despite the Gaza ceasefire and an announcement by Yemen’s Houthis to limit attacks, according to the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's logistics and shipping arm.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier seized in November 2023 at the start of their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.

Ships wholly owned by Israeli individuals or entities, or sailing under the Israeli flag, remain banned from transiting the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, according to the email from the Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center in Yemen.

The move by the Iranian-backed Houthis marks their latest effort to de-escalate their attacks following a ceasefire in Gaza.

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 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.