‘Provocative act’: Anwar slams Israel’s interception of Gaza aid flotilla with 9 Malaysians onboard

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday (Oct 8) slammed Israel’s move in intercepting nine boats delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, and demanded that nine Malaysian activists taking part in the flotilla mission be released.

Anwar said Israeli forces illegally intercepted the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Thousand Madleens to Gaza humanitarian mission in international waters at around 10.50am Malaysia time.

“I strongly condemn this provocative act, which clearly violates international law,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by local media.

“Detaining humanitarian vessels carrying aid for the people of Gaza is inhumane and a blatant breach of fundamental human rights and universal human dignity.”

Anwar demanded the immediate release of all Malaysian activists and volunteers on board the vessels, and called for them to be protected and unharmed throughout their detention.

“The Madani government will do everything possible to safeguard the lives of Malaysians involved in this humanitarian mission,” he added, as quoted by news outlet The Star.

The flotilla's vessels and passengers were safe, had been transferred to an Israeli port and were expected to be deported promptly, Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement on X.

"Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing," the ministry said.

Anwar’s comments came after the Malaysian ministry said on Tuesday that it is “closely monitoring” the latest humanitarian mission even as it welcomed back 23 participants of another such mission who had earlier been detained by Israel.

The ministry noted that the latest mission seeks to challenge Israel’s “illegal blockade” of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to its people.

“All Malaysian diplomatic missions in the region have been placed on full alert and instructed to maintain close monitoring of this mission. Necessary measures are being prepared to address any eventuality, including the possibility of detention by the Israeli regime,” it added. 

“Malaysia will continue to work closely with partner countries to ensure that the safety and rights of its citizens are protected at all times.”

In all, about 150 participants from 25 countries are part of the mission involving nine vessels, with the Malaysian delegation led by non-profit organisation Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCARE), state news agency Bernama reported.

Bernama added that eight Malaysians are on board the vessel Conscience which departed from Porto Otranto, Italy on Sept 30, while the ninth Malaysian is aboard the Umm Saad, which left Catania, Italy on Sept 27.

The Malaysians on Conscience include three doctors, two lecturers and a journalist while the Malaysian on Umm Saad is a doctor.

Earlier on Tuesday night, the 23 Malaysian participants of an earlier Global Sumud Flotilla mission landed safely at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the foreign ministry said.

They were received by Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamad Hasan, Minister of Communications Fahmi Fadzil and Minister of Education Fadhlina Sidek, among other key government officials, it added.

Malaysia’s king Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Anwar had previously criticised Israel’s actions against the earlier group of activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla mission.

The king had said on Oct 3 that the international aid flotilla was a “noble humanitarian mission without borders” and the detention of its participants was “against the principles of universal humanitarian values”.

A day earlier, Anwar described Israel’s interception of the humanitarian mission as “utter contempt not only for the rights of the Palestinian people but also for the conscience of the world”.

Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas began after the latter launched attacks in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023 which saw some 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, Israel has carried out a military assault in Gaza that has killed more than 66,000 people, mostly civilians, according to local health authorities, as well as military operations across the Middle East aimed at weakening Israel's Iran-backed enemies.