Yemen’s Houthis said on Tuesday they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden, ending a period of relative calm starting in January with the Gaza ceasefire.

The Houthis had launched more than 100 attacks targeting shipping from November 2023, saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

During that period, the group sank two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.

The leader of Yemen’s Houthis had warned on Friday that the group would resume its naval operations against Israel if Israel did not lift a blockage of aid into Gaza within four days.

On March 2, Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza as a standoff over the truce escalated, with Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene.

“This ban will remain in effect until the crossings to the Gaza Strip are reopened and humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, is allowed to enter,” the group said in an emailed statement on Wednesday, adding that the ban would take place with immediate effect.

On the other hand, an Israeli team has arrived in the Qatari capital to continue talks with mediators over the fate of the Gaza ceasefire, which has been in limbo since its first phase expired at the beginning of this month, Israeli media reported.

This follows comments from a senior Hamas official saying that talks in Doha had restarted.

Report says that mediators will attempt to extract a concession from Hamas in the form of a release of Israeli captives in exchange for a temporary extension of the ceasefire, which aims to buy talks more time.

Hamas has repeatedly stated that it is not interested in such a proposal, however.

A senior Hamas official said that a fresh round of Gaza ceasefire talks began on Tuesday in the Qatari capital Doha, with the Palestinian movement approaching the negotiations “positively and responsibly”.

“A new round of ceasefire negotiations began today,” Abdul Rahman Shadid said in a statement. “Our movement is dealing with these negotiations positively and responsibly.”

Israel has also sent a team of negotiators for talks aimed at extending the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, but has so far not commented on the talks.

“We hope that the current round of negotiations leads to tangible progress toward beginning the second phase,” Shadid said.

He also expressed hope that US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would help “initiate negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement”.

“The US administration bears responsibility due to its unwavering support for the occupying (Israeli) government.”