ISRAELI AIR STRIKES FORCE RADIG 2 TO CUT SHORT VISIT TO GAZA

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Members of the Ramadan delegation (Radig
2) under the auspices of the Malaysian Islamic Organisations Consultative
Council (Mapim) has decided to cut short its visit and leave Gaza following
Israeli continuous air strikes.

Mapim secretary-general Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said the 33-member delegation
was awaiting instructions from Gaza authorities and the Malaysian Embassy in
Egypt.

He said Radig members, including national astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh
Muszaphar Shukor heard over 10 Israeli bomb blasts, which had claimed several
lives, including women and children, since Friday.

"The atmosphere was chaotic and alarming when powerful bombs were dropped
one km from our hotel as we were attending a tazkirah (religious lecture) at
4.40am," he said in an e-mail to Bernama.

Mohd Azmi, who is also head of the Radig 2 mission, said Radig members were
allowed to visit the scenes of the first two air strikes accompanied by local
officials and security personnel.

The air strikes destroyed a newly built library and damaged the windows and
doors of the Sheikh Sayyid Al Nahyan Mosque.

Accompanied by the Gaza mayor, the delegation visited a maternity hospital
and the An Nasar Mosque project, one km from the Israel-Gaza border.

Mohd Azmi said the three-storey mosque was being built on the site of what
used to be a 500-year-old mosque from funds collected by Mapim.

When completed in November, the three-storey mosque could accommodate 5,000
congregators.