Humanitarian aid mission to Gaza ready to face constraints

The 1Malaysia Putera Club (KP1M) humanitarian aid mission to Gaza is prepared to face numerous constraints during the 500km journey from Cairo, Egypt to the border entry point at Rafah.

Malaysian Ambassador to Egypt and Palestine, Datuk Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari said the embassy had planned the coordination and safety rules with the government of Egypt to facilitate the mission.

He said among the constraints to date were the numerous security posts manned by military forces, lack of petrol and limited telecommunication coverage in certain areas.

However, he was confident the progress of the mission would not encounter problems until after Ismailliyah, about 200km from Cairo.

"We cross the Suez Canal using a ferry after arriving at Ismailliyah. After this point we need tighter security. This has been arranged," he told a briefing for the participants of the mission here on Friday night.

Ku Jaafar said there were many police and military control posts after crossing the Suez Canal until north of Sinai. The area was active with militant activities until the border of Rafah.

Based on information given, telephone reception may not be available in the area and this may pose a problem to communicate.

"Shortage of gas and gasoline will also take place there. So, I have told the office to provide gasoline and so on (to be taken on the trip)," he said.

Ku Jaafar said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman was also briefed on the latest development on the mission's safety.

"He urged us to be careful, because, since the beginning, he was very concerned about security," he added.

The mission, which is also joined by Mercy Malaysia and the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisation, will journey to the border of Rafah at 7am local time (12 noon Malaysian time) on Saturday, after an earlier plan to proceed at 12.30am was put off due to security and logistical reasons.

Headed by KP1M president, Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, the mission planned to distribute 5,000 boxes of food supplies to 25,000 Palestinians and deliver medicine to the victims of the Israel attacks in Gaza.

To date, almost 2,000 Palestinians were killed in the continuous cruel assaults on the Gaza peninsula since July 8.

On Wednesday night, international news agencies reported the Israelis and Palestinians had agreed to extend the ceasefire for five days after a previous ceasefire of 72 hours, prior to this, ended on the same night.