Peter Baker -- April 24, 2026
Landmark accord pauses eight-year war, opens humanitarian corridors and lifts partial blockade on Hodeidah port.
GENEVA — Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement signed a comprehensive ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, ending more than eight years of direct military confrontation in one of the world's most devastating conflicts.
The accord, brokered by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, was signed at 11:20 a.m. local time at the Palais des Nations by Saudi Vice Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman and senior Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam, capping three weeks of shuttle diplomacy. The 22-page agreement commits both sides to an immediate halt to cross-border strikes, the reopening of Sanaa International Airport to commercial traffic within 14 days, and a phased lifting of restrictions at the port of Hodeidah, through which roughly 70 percent of Yemen's food imports pass.
"Today the guns fall silent, and the people of Yemen and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can begin to imagine a future without war," Grundberg said at a press briefing following the signing. "This agreement is not the end of the political process — it is the foundation upon which Yemenis must now build a durable peace."
Under the terms disclosed by the UN mission, a 90-day initial truce will be supervised by a tripartite monitoring committee based in Hodeidah, with Omani observers playing a verification role. The accord also provides for a phased withdrawal of foreign forces from contested coastal areas. Riyadh has agreed to release approximately 1,400 Houthi-affiliated detainees, while the Houthis will free an estimated 820 prisoners, including Saudi border guards captured in 2023, with the first exchange to begin within 21 days.
Saudi Arabia's lead negotiator, Ambassador Mohammed Al-Jaber, speaking alongside Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Geneva, called the agreement "a sovereign decision in the interest of regional stability," and confirmed that Riyadh would unfreeze $2.2 billion in central bank support for Yemen's economy within 30 days. The deal also establishes a joint technical committee to address the distribution of oil revenues from fields in Marib and Hadramaut, and central bank operations between Sanaa and Aden.
Oil markets responded swiftly, with Brent crude falling 3.4 percent to $82.15 per barrel in early London trading on expectations of reduced Red Sea shipping risk. Maersk and CMA CGM both indicated they would review the resumption of direct routes through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, after months of Cape of Good Hope diversions. The Houthis had suspended strikes on commercial vessels in January as part of a confidence-building measure tied to the Geneva process.
The World Food Programme welcomed the accord, saying that 17 million Yemenis facing acute food insecurity would now gain access to expanded aid corridors contingent on the ceasefire. US Central Command confirmed it would maintain current naval deployments in the region pending implementation.
The agreement does not resolve the internal Yemeni conflict between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government in Aden. Grundberg confirmed that intra-Yemeni talks are scheduled to begin in Muscat on May 12.