GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In an unprecedented development that further strained relations between the Palestinian Hamas movement and Yemen’s internationally recognized government, Hamas welcomed the initiative of Yemen’s Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, to release Saudi captives in exchange for Hamas prisoners detained in Saudi Arabia.
In a televised speech March 26 on the television channel Al-Masirah, marking the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of the Yemeni war, Houthi said his group is ready to release five Saudi captives, including a pilot, if Saudi Arabia frees Hamas members detained since April 2019.