She remains undeterred despite being detained by Israel, with 12 other activists, on Oct 5 during a humanitarian mission to Gaza.

Fauziah, a gynaecologist and obstetrician, insists she will be part of other missions to the Palestinian territory, which has been under Israeli siege since 2007.

In an interview with Bernama, Dr Fauziah, who returned home on Oct 7 to a hero’s welcome after being released, said that nothing would stop her from being part of other aid missions to Gaza, a Palestinian enclave that is home to 1.8 million people.

She has already been to Gaza twice, in 2008 and 2012, under the flag of Medical Relief Society Malaysia (Mercy), and would keep track of the next mission to free Gaza. A meeting will be held in Stockholm, Sweden on May 15 to discuss the matter.

A mother of three and grandmother of six, Dr Fauziah is also a board member of the Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCARE) organisation and joined 12 other activists and crew members on the Women’s Boat to Gaza mission to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Land routes to the enclave have been blocked by Israeli and Egyptian security forces.

She was on board the ship Zaytouna-Oliva, which set sail from Barcelona on Sept 27, and came as close as 35 nautical miles off the Gaza coast when it was intercepted by three Israeli navy ships and brought to Ashdod, Israel on the night of Oct 5.

The activists and crew members were detained in Givon Prison but were subsequently released.

Dr Fauziah’s concern for Gaza, was spurred by a United Nations report stating that Gaza could become “uninhabitable” by 2020 because of Israeli military operations and a nearly decade-long blockade.

The world should give “major priority” to the Gaza strip, she said.

She said that the activists on the Women’s Boat mission were aware that there was a slim chance to break the blockade, but the mission, part of the wider Freedom Flotilla Coalition, wanted the entire world to be aware of the plight of the Palestian people, especially those living in Gaza.

Gaza was not Dr Fauziah’s first humanitarian mission, which was to Kosova in 1999. She recalled how the people of Kosovo, whose homes were destroyed, were grateful with the help that reached them, especially from Muslim countries like Malaysia.

“In the rubble, they search for their cups or glasses and hand it over to us as presents. They went through difficulties, they were at war, but yet they still want to give something to us to take back home,” Dr Fauziah reminisced.