Houthis release 10 sailors through Omani mediation, including 9 Filipinos

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

Yemen's Houthi group on Wednesday released 10 sailors, including nine Filipinos, nearly five months after they were detained following the sinking of the cargo vessel Eternity C in the Red Sea off western Yemen.

Al-Masirah TV, the Houthi-run channel, reported that the "crew of the Eternity C was released through Omani mediation and the sailors were transferred from Sanaa to the Omani capital Muscat."

On July 9, the Houthis announced that the Eternity C had completely sunk and that several crew members had been moved to a "safe location," two days after the ship was struck in the Red Sea.

The Eternity C, a commercial cargo vessel sailing under the Liberian flag, was attacked by Houthi missiles while navigating the Red Sea about 51 nautical miles west of Yemen's Hodeidah.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have carried out attacks in the Red Sea on vessels they claim are linked to Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. Israel has responded with airstrikes on multiple occasions.

The group halted its maritime operations after Israel and Hamas reached an agreement in October to end the war in the Gaza Strip.