JOHOR BARU: The Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt should be opened to allow more humanitarian aid to flow to the Palestinians, says a Palestinian activist.
Dr Mohamad Darwish, a lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, said the banning of fuel in Gaza has led to a healthcare crisis in hospitals.
“Since there is no electricity, the hospitals have to depend on generators. But now the fuel for generators has run out, and the hospitals have started to lose patients, especially those being treated in the intensive care unit.
“The only way to save them is through the reopening of the Rafah border, which should be controlled by Egypt and not by the Zionists,” he told reporters after attending the Palestine Solidarity Assembly at Kempas Permai PPR (People’s Housing Programme) here yesterday.
Mohamad, 36, said more aid in the form of medical equipment, food and clean water is also needed for the Palestinians.
He shared that he had communicated with his family last week, but since electricity and communication were cut off in the area, there has been no way for him to ascertain their current state.
“My parents, brothers and sisters are still in Gaza; the last time we spoke was last week.
“To contact me, they will have to walk a few kilometres away from our house to get an internet connection, which is very dangerous as the streets are not safe.
“There is no safe zone in Gaza as the Israeli forces are bombing everything from mosques to schools,” he said, adding that all his cousins and relatives have been killed in the latest conflict.
Meanwhile, Johor Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCare) manager Rozi Abdul Ghani said they are targeting to collect RM350,000 worth of donations in the state.
“We have collected RM280,000 from Nov 7, which we handed over to our headquarters.
“For the first phase, MyCare has collected RM500,000 in the form of financial aid, which we have handed over, and for the second phase, we gave RM500,000 worth of medical aid together with Wisma Putra,” he said.
Pulai MP Suhaizan Kayat encouraged MPs to organise Palestine Solidarity Week in their area and not just in schools.
“We want to spread and create awareness of the Palestinian plight. We must not condone the killing of thousands of innocents by the Israelis and must show our support to the Palestinians.”
