IPOH: Mercy Malaysia is preparing to send its sixth and seventh Specialised Care Teams to Gaza to continue its humanitarian mission, despite facing technical challenges and security issues.
Its president Datuk Dr Ahmad Faizal Mohd Perdaus said the team is expected to depart from Malaysia as soon as all conditions are met.
"Mercy's humanitarian operations in Gaza have never stopped and have also involved locals who help deliver aid in various forms.
We cannot reveal when we will deploy the team yet. We will issue a statement then," he said.
He was speaking at a press conference after the Medical Equipment Handover Ceremony from Mercy Malaysia to the Neurosurgical Critical Care Unit (NCCU) of Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB), which was graced by the Raja Permaisuri of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim on Saturday (Sept 20).
“If the ceasefire remains as before, we can send a larger team of between six and eight members.
If the situation continues, the team will be limited to only four to five people who are experts in the medical field,” he added.
Dr Ahmad Faizal said Mercy also cooperates with the United Nations (UN) and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) able to send aid to areas that its teams cannot access.
"For the ongoing aid mission, we do have a workforce among the local people.
In Gaza, for example, we implement small-scale agricultural programmes supported by them to help a little in terms of food supply," he said.
He also said that Mercy is not involved in the mission carried out by the Global Sumud Flotilla but morally supports the efforts of more than 1,000 volunteers.
