On Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels  announced plans to phase down their campaign against shipping in the Red Sea, beginning with a cessation of hostilities against “non-Israeli” vessels. 

The group’s “Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center” issued a statement on Sunday reporting that the group is lifting its yearlong blockade on shipping in the Red Sea, following implementation of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza last week. The first phase was a prisoner exchange between Israeli forces and Hamas; this took place successfully on Sunday with a trade of 90 Palestinian suspects for three Israeli hostages.

The center said that going forward, it would not attack most categories of ships, including ships bound for Israel; American or British ships; vessels partly owned by Israeli interests; or vessels operated by Israeli interests but owned by other nationalities. The Houthis still plan to attack vessels that are wholly Israeli-owned or are Israeli-flagged, at least until all phases of the ceasefire agreement are implemented. These fully-Israeli vessels are “prohibited from transiting the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean at present,” the HOCC said.  

In a warning, the group said that it could resume…