KUALA LUMPUr: A total of 23 Malaysian members of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) delegation who were in the custody of the Zionist regime since Thursday (Oct 2), have been safely taken out of Israel.
Sumud Nusantara Operations Centre (SNCC) informed that a special plane carrying all the Malaysian activists departed from Ramon Airport, Israel, bound for Istanbul, Turkiye, on Saturday (Oct 4) at 6.45pm Malaysian time.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, in a Facebook post, said all 23 Malaysians had departed on a special Turkish government flight, TK6921, from Ramon Airport.
He said the Malaysian Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate General in Istanbul would arrange accommodation for them to stay overnight in Istanbul before returning home.
"Heartfelt thanks to Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) and (Turkish President) Recep Tayyip Erdogan," he said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, during a live broadcast on Facebook on Saturday, announced that all 23 Malaysians involved in the GSF mission will remain in Istanbul for at least one day for medical examinations due to trauma and stress from Israel's harsh and oppressive actions, before departing to return to Malaysia.
Anwar, who is also the patron of the Sumud Nusantara mission, insisted that the success of freeing and bringing back 23 Malaysians from the custody of the Zionist regime was the result of long diplomatic negotiations.
He said the release process involved close coordination at the international level, including through discussions by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan with United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Jordanian government, as well as Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, together with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
The Prime Minister said that the success was also the result of his own negotiations together with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as Turkish National Security Chief Dr Ibrahim Kalin.
According to the Prime Minister, the planning and negotiations to bring home and save all the victims were not only limited to the safety of the delegation from Malaysia and Turkiye, but also involved several other countries, including Indonesia and Europe.
On Thursday, 23 Malaysian activists who participated in the GSF mission were arrested by the Zionist regime after their ship was intercepted while in Red Zone R3 waters, in the Mediterranean Sea and then taken to the port of Ashdod, Israel.
The Malaysians arrested are singer Heliza Helmi and her sister, Nur Hazwani Afiqah who boarded the Hio ship; Nurfarahin Romli (Farah Lee) and Danish Nazran Murad (Grande Blu ship); singer Zizi Kirana (Huga ship); Musa Nuwayri, Iylia Balqis and Sul Aidil (Alma ship); Haikal Abdullah, Muaz Zainal, Zulfadhli Khiruddin and Rusydi Ramli (Sirius ship).
In addition, also arrested are Razali Awang, who boarded the Inana ship; influencer Nurul Hidayah Mohd Amin (Mikeno ship ); PU Rahmat, Norhelmi Ab Ghani, Mohd Asmawi Mukhtar, Norazman Ishak (Estrella ship); Zainal Rashid and Ustaz Muhammad Abdullah (Fair Lady ship), as well as Muhammad Hareez Adzram, Muhd Haikal Luqman Zulkefli and Taufiq Mohd Razif (Free Willy ship).
GSF accompanied by more than 500 activists from 45 countries, sailed to Gaza as a symbol of solidarity and efforts to break the Israeli blockade, while sending humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. – Bernama
