The Houthi rebels in Yemen announced on Wednesday that they had freed the 25 crew members of the Galaxy Leader ship captured more than a year ago, after the truce agreement in Gaza came into force. The Bulgarian crew members, the captain and his deputy, 17 Filipinos, Ukrainians and Mexicans, “left Sanaa international airport aboard an Omani plane,” the Al-Massirah channel said in the evening, affiliated with the Houthis which broadcast images of them at the airport.
Seized in November 2023, the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship chartered by a Japanese firm on behalf of a British company belonging to an Israeli businessman, was the first ship targeted by the Houthis, after the start of their attacks on Israel-linked boats off the coast of Yemen.
Supported by Iran, the Houthis claimed to carry out their attacks “in solidarity” with the Palestinians, after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by an attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.
The Houthis’ Supreme Political Council earlier announced “the release of the crew of the Galaxy Leader, arrested as part of the campaign to support Gaza”, according to the rebel Saba news agency. The decision to release them was taken “in support of the ceasefire agreement”, which came into force on Sunday in Gaza, she added. They were released “in coordination with Hamas” and with the help of the Sultanate of Oman.
Surrounded by the 25 crew members, a representative of Hamas and another of the Houthis organized a press conference on the tarmac before their departure. Hamas representative Moaad Abou Shamalah welcomed “the coordination” between the Houthis and his movement.
-“The release of the Galaxy Leader crew is comforting news that puts an end to the arbitrary detention and separation endured by crew members and their families for more than a year,” said the special envoy of the UN for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, in a press release. “This is a step in the right direction,” he added, urging the Houthis “to end maritime attacks.”
The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Domínguez, spoke of “deep relief”. In a press release, he welcomed a return to maritime trade in the Red Sea and “freedom of navigation”.
“The two Bulgarian sailors detained in Yemen, from the crew of the Galaxy Leader, have been released. The Prime Minister sent the government plane to bring them back to Bulgaria,” the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The rebels, who control large swaths of war-torn Yemen, announced on Tuesday that they would only target ships linked to Israel during the Gaza truce.
