KUALA LUMPUR: The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that all six members of Mercy Malaysia’s Emergency Medical Team (EMT) have been successfully and safely evacuated from Rafah, Gaza.
In a statement on Saturday (June 1), the ministry reported that the EMT members were evacuated from the conflict zone in batches, along with other international personnel.
“The batches departed on May 23, 24, and 28, respectively and finally, the last two members left on May 31,” read the statement.
The ministry thanked all the international partners for their full cooperation and commitment in ensuring the safety of the Malaysians until they left the conflict zone.
The statement also urged all Malaysians to refrain from traveling to any conflict zones.
Thousands of Palestinians fled the western areas of Rafah after the Israeli army expanded its incursion into the city on Monday (May 27) night.
Among the victims in Rafah, many Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes that targeted tents for displaced people in Tal al-Sultan, northwest of Rafah city centre, a medical source told Anadolu Agency.
Israeli heavy shelling overnight on western Rafah left medical staff and patients trapped inside the Tal al-Sultan clinic and the Indonesian field hospital in the city, witnesses said.
Israel’s current expansion of its incursion into Rafah brings the Israeli army close to full control of the border area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarised buffer zone running along the Gaza-Egypt border.
The Israeli army has so far seized control of almost two-thirds of the corridor area as it advances through heavy bombardment and shelling.
Israel continued its brutal offensive on Gaza despite a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
At least 36,050 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 81,000 others injured since October.
More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. – Bernama