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 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 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.

The United Nations said on Friday that the Houthis who control northern Yemen had detained seven U.N. personnel, and it was suspending all UN staff movement in Houthi-held areas while seeking the detainees' immediate release.

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 Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels on Saturday released 153 war detainees in the militia-controlled capital Sana'a, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "This operation has brought much-needed relief and joy to families who have been anxiously waiting for the return of their loved ones,

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,