Malaysia Prioritises Rafah Land Route for Channelling Aid to Gaza – Lukanisman
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia is now prioritising the channelling of humanitarian aid to Gaza through the land route at the Rafah border, following the reopening of that crossing, which is deemed more efficient and safer.
Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the reopening of the route provides the government with a better alternative method to ensure that critical supplies reach the Palestinian people directly.
In this regard, he said the decision of any individual or local activist to join humanitarian mission voyages such as the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) from now on is a matter of personal choice and decision.
“Their participation in such programmes is a personal decision based on the individual’s principles in championing issues related to Palestine and Gaza. The government will channel aid if problems arise. Since the crossing has been reopened, it is best for us to send aid so that it can be felt,” he said.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Ahmad Saad @ Yahaya (PN-Pokok Sena) during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today regarding post-GSF mission plans and efforts to increase support among Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states.
Lukanisman said although prioritising the land route, Malaysia still recognises the importance of such voyage missions as a pressure instrument to attract international media attention and demand accountability from the Israeli regime.
He said various forms of Malaysian aid, including food, medicine and solar lamps, have been successfully channelled to the people of Gaza as a result of the sustainability of existing approaches.
Meanwhile, he said Wisma Putra continues to strengthen strategic cooperation and collective diplomatic pressure at the multilateral level through the OIC, the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU).
He said these efforts include Malaysia’s active involvement in driving cross-sectoral support through the Brussels Declaration 2026, which brings together the voices of parliamentarians, political figures and civil society from Europe and Malaysia.
“Efforts are being mobilised to build collective diplomatic pressure to ensure that the Palestinian issue continues to receive attention and appropriate action at the international level,” he said.
Earlier, when responding to the original question, Lukanisman said the government strongly condemns the Zionist regime’s violent actions in detaining participants of the GSF 2.0 mission, while also expressing appreciation to the Turkish government for assisting in rescuing and bringing home all 29 Malaysian volunteers safely.
Bernama