BANGI, May 1 — All mosques and surau nationwide have been urged to perform solat hajat and recite Qunut Nazilah for the safety of 175 Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2.0 activists, including 10 Malaysians, who were abducted by the Zionist regime in international waters.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Dr Zulkifli Hasan, said the government fully supports the GSF 2.0 mission and is closely monitoring developments through the Sumud Nusantara Command Centre (SNCC).

“We have mobilised mosques and surau  to perform special prayers and supplications for the success of the GSF 2.0 mission and the safety of all activists, including the 10 Malaysians whose whereabouts remain unknown,” he told a special press conference on the latest developments of the GSF 2026 mission here today.

Earlier, SNCC director-general Datuk Dr Sani Araby Abdul Alim Araby said there has been no official confirmation on the safety status of the 175 activists, including the 10 Malaysians, after 38 hours since the abduction in international waters.

Zulkifli said the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), together with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, remains consistent in its full support for the GSF 2.0 mission and efforts to liberate Gaza from the Zionist regime.

He added that the department is also reviewing forms of assistance, including moral support, that can be extended to the families of the activists.

“We have several agencies ready, and we are continuing initiatives from previous GSF missions. We will assess the needs from time to time,” he said.

The 10 Malaysians abducted yesterday are Zainal Rashid Ahmad who was on board Arkham III, Osman Zolkifli and Dr Jihan Alya Mohd Nordin (Eros 1), Hazwan Hazim Dermawan, Mohd Hanafi Mohd Salim, Ahmad Musa Al-Nuwayri Kamaruzaman and Norhelmi Ab Ghani (Bianca BCN), as well as Mohd Redzal Amzah and Muhamad Muhsin Zaidi (Freia and Marea), and Mohd Shamsir Mohd Isa (Esplai).

The GSF 2.0 mission is an international maritime coalition and global mobilisation effort aimed at breaking the blockade on Gaza in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory. — Bernama

ATHENS, May 1 — Dozens of activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Crete disembarked on Friday in the Greek island, an AFP journalist saw.

Escorted by Greek coastguards, around 175 activists, the majority of them nationals of European countries, were taken in four coaches to the port of Atherinolakkos, in the southeast of the island.

As they approached the port, the activists chanted “Free Palestine”, AFP saw.

Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said around 175 activists had been taken off more than 20 boats on Thursday. Flotilla organisers put the number at 211.

The flotilla comprising more than 50 vessels set sail in recent weeks from Marseille in France, Barcelona in Spain and Syracuse in Italy.

Its aim, according to the organisers, was to break the blockade of Gaza and bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.

Israel controls all entry points to Gaza. It has been accused by the United Nations and foreign NGOs of strangling the flow of goods into the territory, causing shortages since the start of Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in October 2023.

The Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas, has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein on Friday said: “All the flotilla activists are now in Greece except Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila.”

In a post on X, the ministry called the flotilla “another provocation designed to divert attention from Hamas’s refusal to disarm”. It also said the flotilla was serving “professional provocateurs”.

It said Keshek was “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organisation” and that he and Avila, suspected of “illegal activity”, would be brought to Israel for questioning.

Several European governments with nationals among those arrested have called on Israel to free the activists and called its action a flagrant contravention of international law.

But the United States backed Israeli authorities, calling the flotilla a “stunt” and saying it expects allies to deny port access, docking, departure and refuelling to vessels participating in the flotilla.

A State Department spokesman said Washington was exploring imposing “consequences” on those who support the flotilla.

The war in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, has led to severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel.

In the summer and autumn of 2025, a first voyage by the Global Sumud Flotilla across the Mediterranean towards Gaza drew worldwide attention.

The boats in that flotilla were intercepted by Israel off the coasts of Egypt and the Gaza Strip in early October.

Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and then expelled by Israel. — AFP