Yemen’s Houthis on Thursday freed Lana Shukri Kataw, a Jordanian national and deputy director of UNICEF's office in Yemen, days after abducting her in Sanaa.
Sources told The New Arab’s Arabic edition that her release followed a deal with Jordanian authorities, under which several Houthi leaders were flown from Amman back to Sanaa, including the group’s former foreign minister Hisham Sharaf.
Kataw was then flown aboard a Jordanian military plane from Sanaa airport to Amman.
Jordan's foreign ministry confirmed her release, saying it had followed the case "from the moment of her detention".
Ministry spokesperson Fouad Majali credited the Operations and Consular Affairs Directorate and other agencies for ensuring her safe return. "She is now on her way back to the Kingdom," he said.
Kataw was among the staff seized when Houthi gunmen stormed UNICEF’s Sanaa office on 4 September, occupying the building and interrogating employees. She was subjected to repeated questioning until her release.
Her detention was part of a wider Houthi crackdown. Human Rights Watch reported this week that armed Houthi forces raided several UN offices on 31 August, detaining at least 19 additional UN staff and adding to the dozens already held.
The group used the killing of its unrecognised prime minister, Ahmed Rahwi, and several ministers in an Israeli strike as a pretext for the repression, HRW said.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted international staff. In June 2024, they abducted more than 50 UN and NGO employees across Sanaa, Hodeidah, Saada and Amran, later referring some, including three UN officials, to a "terrorism court".
In February 2025, UN food programme staffer Ahmed Baalawi died in Houthi detention in Saada, weeks after being arrested with six colleagues.
The group continues to hold dozens of UN employees, NGO workers, civil society activists and diplomats, many detained arbitrarily since 2021.