The Houthis had signaled Friday night they planned a release of prisoners, part of their efforts to ease tensions after the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Yemen's Houthi group said it will free dozens of prisoners on Saturday, calling the move a "unilateral humanitarian initiative," Abdul Qader al-Murtada, head of the Houthi-run prisoner affairs committee,

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.

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 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.

Yemen's Huthi rebels have detained another group of UN personnel, a United Nations statement said on Friday, after 13 staff were held last June.

Yemen's Houthi rebel group said that its release of war prisoners on Sunday is a goodwill gesture aimed at advancing prisoner exchanges, which is one of the most complex issues in the Yemeni conflict,