ANKARA

Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim on Friday denounced the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), saying it embodied the “spirit of humanity without borders.”

During his meeting with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the monarch praised the volunteers, including Malaysian citizens, for risking their lives to convey a message of humanity to the world, according to a statement posted on the US social media platform Facebook.

“The GSF mission is an example of a boundless spirit of brotherhood in helping those who are truly in need,” he said, adding that “they carried only food supplies, yet were obstructed and detained. Such actions are against the principles of universal humanitarian values.”

He stressed that the flotilla represented a noble humanitarian mission to help the hungry, including senior citizens, women, and children.

Anwar also briefed the king on the government’s efforts to secure the immediate release of the detained volunteers.

According to the Foreign Ministry, at least 23 Malaysians were detained by Israeli forces on Thursday.

Israeli naval forces have attacked most of the 44 vessels of the humanitarian flotilla seeking to break the Israeli siege of Gaza since late Wednesday and detained more than 450 activists aboard.

The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail in late August to break the 18-year-long blockade.

Israel tightened the siege further this March by closing all border crossings and blocking food, medicine, and aid, pushing the territory into famine despite aid trucks piling up at its borders.

The Israeli army has killed over 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of disease.