'Women's Boat to Gaza' mission safely arrives in Italy

Participants of the 'Women's Boat to Gaza' (WBG) mission have safely arrived in Italy.

Their ship Zaytouna Oliva docked at the port of the Messina in northeast Sicily at 2pm (local time).

Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCARE) chief executive officer Kamarul Zaman Shaharul Anwar said the mission was running smoothly and on track.

"We were informed that the Italian marine police came on board to ask about the mission and they allowed us to dock.

"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), Dr Fauziah Mohd Hasan and Norsham Abu Bakar who are representatives of MyCARE are safe after three days and two nights onboard Zaytouna Oliva," he said in a statement here on Friday.

WBG is a humanitarian aid mission with women from several countries including the United States, Algeria, Tunisia and Malaysia participating in it.

The mission started in Barcelona on Sept 14 and is scheduled arrive in Gaza on Oct 1.

In the statement, Dr Fauziah who is a MyCARE Board of Trustees member and the ship's official doctor, said that all members of the mission were still eager to continue their journey to Palestine.

"Our hearts are closer to Gaza. We also write poems and travelogues while on board on this mission to share publicly, one day," she said.