KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — The third delivery of humanitarian aid for Palestinians through Ops Ihsan, which left at 2am, reached the El Arish International Airport in Egypt safely at 7.50am local time today.

The Ops Ihsan secretariat said in a statement today that the flight, which comprised a 10-man crew that included two journalists, took nearly 11 hours — about an hour earlier than scheduled — to reach the destination.

It added that the arrival of the chartered MASKargo A330-200 aircraft was welcomed by El Arish International Airport ground handling officials and Egyptian Red Crescent Society representatives.

"It took about three hours to unload the goods from the aircraft.

"The goods received by the Egyptian Red Crescent Society will be taken into Gaza through the Rafah border before being handed over to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, which will be responsible for distributing them to hospitals and also to those in need in Gaza,” it added.

The shipment brought a total of 60 tonnes of goods in the form of medicines, medical equipment, food, baby and women’s necessities and winter necessities worth RM3 million.

Meanwhile, Ops Ihsan Secretariat chairman Jismi Johari, in the same statement, expressed his gratitude and thanked everyone involved in the third shipment.

He added that the collective and integrated efforts of the Foreign Ministry, government agencies and over 60 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), coupled with the spirit of Malaysians, proved crucial in the success of Ops Ihsan.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah yesterday witnessed preparations for Malaysia’s third delivery of the Ops Ihsan humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) cargo terminal here. — Bernama