Malaysia, in solidarity ‘with people of Palestine’, welcomes wounded fleeing Israel-Gaza war

Two air force transport jets arrived 30 minutes apart, carrying the wounded Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The patients came out on stretchers and wheelchairs, a few were on crutches, relief washed over the faces of accompanying parents cradling toddlers or tightly grasping the hands of small children as they left the planes.

More than half of the patients were children, including 19 under the age of 12, according to details shared by the Armed Forces. Some evacuees had lost limbs, while others had suffered serious injuries caused by shrapnel from bomb blasts.

“We carried out this mission purely on humanitarian considerations, and to show our solidarity against what is happening to the people of Palestine,” Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin told reporters after receiving the patients.

Minister Khaled said they have not set a time frame for how long the patients and their families will be allowed to stay in Malaysia, adding that the government is still considering whether to bring in another batch of evacuees.

The patients will be treated at a field hospital at a hangar at the Subang air force base in Selangor state where they landed, before being taken to a military hospital.

Israel’s response has been bloody and unrelenting. Gaza is now largely in ruins after more than 10 months of war, and the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry has struggled to count the dead. On Thursday, the death toll surpassed 40,000.

03:05

World reacts to air strikes killing Hamas leader in Iran and Hezbollah commander in Beirut

“Malaysia does not bow to Western opinions or any country dictating whom we should support,” Anwar said, adding his country “firmly upholds Hamas’ role” in the struggle for Palestinian and Gaza liberation.

Anwar