Malaysia’s third shipment of humanitarian aid for Palestine on Dec 18 - DPM Zahid

PUTRAJAYA: The shipment of Malaysia's third humanitarian aid for Palestine is expected to take place on Dec 18, involving 60 tonnes of various types of goods, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the shipment of the aid coordinated by Wisma Putra must be done as the goods are highly needed by the Palestinians.

"We hope the caring attitude of the Malaysian people will continue to persist because we see that the Israeli aggression on the southern Gaza Strip is becoming more and more painful.

"The aggression is still being carried out by the Zionist forces, and we cannot just stand by. We need to continue providing continuous assistance to the Palestinian people, especially those in Gaza who are under constant pressure from Israel."

Ahmad Zahid said this to reporters after witnessing the presentation of donations of RM621,954 by Wanita UMNO and RM200,000 by Syarikat 99 Speedmart Sdn Bhd for the Humanitarian Trust Fund for the People of Palestine (AAKRP) here today.

Malaysia, through the humanitarian mission dubbed, Ops Ihsan, has been delivering aid to Gaza, with the first shipment consisting of 20 tonnes of medical supplies, baby items, and food, arrived in Gaza on Nov 10, while the second shipment of 16 tonnes of aid reached Egypt on Nov 11.

Ahmad Zahid also urged the public to continue making contributions to the Palestinian people through government-provided platforms to prevent any leakage.

"The coordination is done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it is better (to use government platforms) if we are concerned about leakage if the distribution of the aid is given to individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) pretending to help the Palestinians," he added.

-- BERNAMA