Usim Palestinian lecturer loses 19 family members in Gaza, urges immediate ceasefire

SEREMBAN - A Palestinian lecturer at the Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (Usim), has lost 19 family members in the Gaza conflict.

Dr Wesam Almahallawi said his younger brother, Waleed Almahallawi, 40, who is also a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) student in Human Resource Management at the same university, his sister-in-law and four nieces were killed by a Zionist bomb attack in Gaza on Oct 25.

He added that several other family members including his uncle and aunt were also killed in the attack.

"In that incident, the Israeli bomb attack destroyed a residence where the family was living with 200 other Gazans," he said in a statement issued by Usim here today.

He said, however, his mother and father, aged 65 and 68 respectively, as well as his younger brother and two other sisters have survived the attack but have been uncontactable since then.

He said his family members also had to keep moving from place to place to find shelter in any undamaged house, to save themselves.

"I have to wait for days for their response to my messages because Israel has blocked all telephone and internet networks in Gaza. It has been four days since I last heard from my younger sister in North Gaza.

"I hope for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The people of Gaza, including my family there, are fighting for their lives,” he said.

The conflict in Palestine involving Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza, and the Israel regime has been going on since Oct 7, causing the loss of thousands of lives. - BERNAMA