SERDANG: The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) humanitarian mission, which is sailing to Gaza, is expected to enter the yellow zone on Tuesday (Oct 7).
Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCARE) chief executive officer Kamarul Zaman Shaharul Anwar said this would enable the mission - involving nine vessels, including the flagship Conscience and the Umm Saad vessel - to arrive in Gaza before this weekend.
He added that they are trying to avoid arriving on the weekend, namely Friday (Oct 10) or Saturday (Oct 11), since those two days are off days in Israel, which would then make it difficult to access legal aid should the participants’ mission be blocked.
"So, they will try (to reach Gaza) before that. If they arrive on Wednesday (Oct 8) and are intercepted upon arrival at the port, our lawyers will be able to reach them and try hard to gain access to the mission's participants,” he told a media conference at the MyCARE headquarters here on Monday (Oct 6).
He added that as of 2.20am (Malaysian time on Monday), the vessel Conscience is located about 250 nautical miles off the Gaza coast, and he expects them to enter the yellow zone in less than 24 hours.
He added that the vessel Conscience plans to slow down its journey to wait for the other eight boats, including Umm Saad, which has one Malaysian on board, before sailing together towards the yellow zone.
He was also informed by Malaysia's chief delegate, Prof Emeritus Dr Mohd Alauddin Mohd Ali, about the presence of several drones above the vessel, which was aimed at putting fear in the mission's participants.
"The Malaysian participants on board Conscience also did live streaming with the Al-Awda hospital in Gaza, and the hospital authorities reported that their clinics are running short on medical supplies and equipment.
"They have had to use conventional methods to treat the patients, besides relying on their ingenuity and creativity to modify existing medical equipment," he said.
Eight Malaysians are on board the vessel Conscience, which departed from Porto Otranto, Italy, on Sept 30. They are Mohd Alauddin; Dr Fauziah Mohd Hassan, Dr Hafiz Sulaiman and Dr Ili Syakira Mohd Suhaimi (all doctors); Prof Dr Mond Afandi Salleh and Dr Noorhasyimah Ismail (both lecturers); MyCARE trustee Norsham Abu Bakar; and Astro Awani journalist Syafik Shukri Abdul Jalil.
Another Malaysian representative, Dr Maziah Muhammad, is aboard the Umm Saad, which left Catania, Sicily, on Sept 27, along with seven other vessels heading towards Gaza.
In total, around 150 participants from 25 countries are part of this FFC mission, with MyCARE leading the Malaysian delegation. - Bernama
