Istanbul: Twenty-three Malaysian volunteers from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) mission arrived safely in Istanbul from Israel tonight. Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil confirmed the news, as relayed by the Sumud Nusantara Command Centre (SNCC) director-general, Datuk Dr Sani Araby Abdul Alim Araby. "Alhamdulillah, Datuk Sani Araby has just informed that the 23 Malaysian GSF volunteers have safely arrived in Istanbul. May Allah SWT grant them strength and ease their journey home," he shared in a Facebook post.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, SNCC had earlier confirmed that a special aircraft carrying all the Malaysian activists departed from Ramon Airport in Israel at 6.45 pm Malaysian time. In a separate Facebook post, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan mentioned that all 23 Malaysians had left on a special Turkish flight, TK6921, from Ramon Airport. The volunteers were detained by Israeli forces on Thursday after their ships were intercepted in the R3 Red Zone waters of the Mediterranean Sea and taken to the port of Ashdod in Israel.
The volunteers include notable individuals such as singer Heliza Helmi and her younger sister Nur Hazwani Afiqah on the vessel Hio, Nurfarahin Romli (Farah Lee) and Danish Nazran Murad (Grande Blu), singer Zizi Kirana (Huga), Musa Nuwayri, Iylia Balqis, and Sul Aidil (Alma). Others include Haikal Abdullah, Muaz Zainal, Zulfadhli Khiruddin, and Rusydi Ramli (Sirius), Razali Awang on the vessel Inana, influencer Nurul Hidayah Mohd Amin, also known as Ardell Aryana (Mikeno), and PU Rahmat, Norhelmi Ab Ghani, Mohd Asmawi Mukhtar, and Norazman Ishak (Estrella). Zainal Rashid and Ustaz Muhammad Abdullah were aboard the Fair Lady, while Muhammad Hareez Adzrami, known as Haroqs, Muhd Haikal Luqman Zulkefli, and Taufiq Mohd Razif were on the Free Willy.
The GSF, consisting of over 500 activists from 45 countries, embarked on a mission to Gaza as a symbol of solidarity and an effort to break the Israeli blockade while delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.