Selangor, Malaysia: Forty-one Palestinian civilians who suffered various injuries in the war in Gaza were flown to Malaysia on Friday for treatment, officials said. The Palestinians, aged between eight months and 62 years, were flown to the majority Muslim nation from the Egyptian capital Cairo onboard two Malaysian air force transport aircraft.
"We carried out this mission purely on humanitarian considerations, and to show our solidarity against what is happening to the people of Palestine," Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin told a news conference after receiving the patients. "It also shows our nation's stand against this inhumane genocide."
Nordin said the injured were selected after a "careful evaluation" to ensure they were fit for the 19-hour flight that made a stopover in Karachi, Pakistan. The injured were accompanied by 86 family members or next of kin.
The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.
Some were freed during a one-week truce in November. The war has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza and destroyed much of its housing and other infrastructure, leaving widespread shortages of food. Gaza's health ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant casualties, said on Thursday that the war has killed more than 40,000 people.
