Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and the 12 Malaysian volunteers seized by Israeli troops in Monday's raid on a Gaza humanitarian ship convoy are scheduled to return to Malaysia on Sunday.

The Foreign Ministry, in a statement today, said that the group was expected to arrive at the KL International Airport (KLIA) at 5.40am.

Wisma Putra and the staff of the Malaysian embassy in Amman are currently assisting the volunteers with their travel documents and arrangements for them to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, tomorrow to collect their belongings.

Anifah, who met all the 12 volunteers in Jordan last night, shortly upon his arrival in Amman, was relieved to see that everyone was safe and that the deportation process from Israel went smoothly, the statement said.

"On behalf of the government of Malaysia, the Foreign Minister would like to reiterate his deepest gratitude to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for its assistance in successfully bringing the 12 Malaysians safely out of Israel."

The 12, including two Astro Awani television crew members, were on board the Turkish ship, "Mavi Marmara", which was stormed by Israeli forces in international waters on Monday, with 10 people reported killed.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) will not provide a special aircraft to bring back the 12 Malaysian volunteers and media representatives who were released from detention by Israeli troops.

Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said besides the high cost involved, there had also been no request to bring the volunteers home using military aircraft.

"If we were to bring them back using the Charlie (transport aircraft), it is costly... so I don't see any need and there is also no request," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

- Bernama