KUALA LUMPUR: The Global Sumud Flotilla mission to Gaza faces a significant delay after several participating boats and their captains withdrew from the voyage yesterday.
Tuan Asri Tuan Hussein, Media Director of Muslim Care Malaysia and a volunteer on the convoy, confirmed the flotilla is currently in the southern waters of Greece awaiting a major reshuffle.
He explained that the mission, which was not scheduled to stop in Greece, was forced to halt because a number of captains and their assistants withdrew for reasons still unknown to the organisers.
“We do not yet know the actual number or the reason for their withdrawal, so the organisers have to reassign passengers to other boats or new captains, including the boat I am on,” he said when contacted today.
Tuan Asri added that one family boat was also reported as damaged beyond repair, further complicating the mission’s progress.
The group will remain at their current location until the reshuffle is complete and conditions allow them to continue the journey towards Gaza.
“As long as it is not resolved, we will not move,” he stated, noting that occupants of the damaged family boat may need to be transferred if a replacement vessel cannot be found.
The flotilla carries food, medicine, and a message of peace and is scheduled to arrive in Gaza waters by the end of this month.
International participation in the mission includes volunteers from Europe, Asia, South Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.
All Malaysian volunteers are participating under the banner of Sumud Nusantara, led by Cinta Gaza Malaysia Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri Kamaruzaman.
A total of 34 Malaysians are part of the mission and are currently in international waters near Greece, expecting to enter the yellow zone before reaching Gaza. – Bernama