The Biden administration on Thursday welcomed the last-minute extension of a fragile truce in Yemen, in what Secretary of State Antony Blinken said is “another important step toward peace and will bring further relief to millions of Yemenis.” 

“The Yemeni parties have an opportunity to listen to the demands of the people and choose peace over continued suffering, destruction and war,” Blinken said of the 60-day extension. “We urge them to seize this pivotal moment to begin a comprehensive peace process.” 

In early April, the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government agreed to a two-month truce brokered by the United Nations, the terms of which included a halt to air and ground attacks and the partial reopening of the international airport in rebel-held Sanaa. 

The Houthi-controlled airport has been closed to commercial traffic since the Saudi-led coalition, which controls Yemen’s airspace, intervened in the country’s civil war in 2015. Commercial flights between the Jordanian capital of Amman and Sanaa resumed in mid-May, and flights to Cairo were added on Wednesday.