M'sian GSF activists arrive in Istanbul from Israel

All 23 Malaysian activists who took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) mission have safely landed in Istanbul, according to government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil.

They were part of a group of 137 global activists who were attacked and detained by Israeli forces in international waters, and who were transported on a plane which departed from Ramon Airport in Eilat, Israel.

Aside from Turkiye and Malaysian citizens, nationals of the US, the UAE, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Jordan were also aboard the plane.

The activists were welcomed by officials and others at the airport, reported Bernama.

On social media, tens of thousands of Malaysians viewed live streams of their arrivals, flooding the comment section with messages of support and condemnation of the Zionist regime.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said the Malaysian Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate-General’s office in Istanbul will arrange accommodation for the activists to stay overnight before returning home.

He also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for helping to coordinate the negotiation process and their release.

On Thursday, 23 Malaysian activists taking part in the GSF mission were detained by Zionist regime forces after their ship was intercepted in the R3 Red Zone waters of the Mediterranean Sea and subsequently taken to the port of Ashdod, Israel.

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