KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — Preacher Ustaz Ebit Lew has finally arrived in Gaza to carry out his latest humanitarian mission in Palestine.
Lew took to Instagram earlier this morning to update followers that he and his team were escorted by the Egyptian military in an armoured vehicle throughout their journey.
The preacher and his entourage are the first humanitarian team in the world that have been granted access to pass the Rafah Crossing Point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip since violence erupted between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israeli forces last month.
“According to the Malaysian embassy and the Egyptian Military Intelligence Unit, we are the first team in the world to be allowed to enter through the Rafah gates after the recent 2021 war,” Lew wrote to his 5.2 million Instagram followers.
He added that more than 30 non-governmental organisations worldwide have applied to enter the Gaza Strip to extend humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
Lew thanked Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Wisma Putra for helping his team in the mission and also expressed gratitude to Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and Malaysian Red Crescent.
Lew said he felt right at home the minute he and his team reached Palestine where they received a warm welcome from the Palestinian Health Ministry and the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry.
“Throughout the Rafah border, all we could hear was everyone asking us to eat and drink and visit their homes.
“It feels like being with your closest family members.
“So overwhelmed, like being back in my own hometown,” wrote Lew, who arrived in Egypt on May 27.
Lew, who has been silent on social media since leaving Malaysia to travel to the Middle East said he wasn’t able to provide updates due to safety concerns.
The Instagram clip of Lew’s arrival in Gaza has been viewed more than one million times at the time of writing.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out on May 10 until a ceasefire was announced on May 21.
According to United Nations sources, 256 Palestinians had been killed during the bloody violence.
