KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — A total of 33,000 more food packs have been sent to the Gaza Strip via Ops Ihsan, said Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin.
The aid reached Gaza this morning and is expected to benefit over 130,000 affected residents amid the ongoing conflict.
"We understand the process of delivering aid is quite complex and requires several procedures. We have managed to send 33,000 packs of food.
"Each pack can sustain four people. So, if we have 33,000 packs, it means 132,000 people can benefit from the aid as of this morning," he said during a special chambers session of the Dewan Rakyat today.
The special chambers session was held following a motion brought by Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim on an urgent and specific public interest matter, namely the need for Malaysia to send humanitarian assistance to Palestine.
Mohamad said Wisma Putra will continue efforts to send more food packs besides the 100 tonnes of food that was sent previously.
"We will continue other efforts to send several more shipments to Gaza. We are in negotiations to send our shipments through the sea route starting from Port Klang to Egypt.
"...InsyaAllah, they will be sent at the end of March and are expected to arrive (in Egypt) on May 8," he said.
Wisma Putra and the Health Ministry (MOH) are also in discussions regarding the dispatch of a medical team to field hospitals in Palestine operated by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkiye.
"In line with the Cabinet's decision to ensure all forms of Malaysian humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people can be moved through integrated collaboration, MOH and Ops Ihsan Secretariat are considering training for team members, especially in physical and mental preparedness, as well as Arabic language proficiency," Mohamad said.
— Bernama
