KUALA LUMPUR: Palestinian Sameer Allawi has made Malaysia his home for the past 12 years but his heart remains with his family members and relatives in Gaza amid the escalating tensions.
Sameer, who is Al-Jazeera Malaysia bureau chief, said he has been worried sick for the safety of his extended family there and never ceased to pray that they will be unharmed.
He added that many of his Press colleagues in Gaza, some of whom are journalists, YouTubers as well as bloggers, have lost their family members in the crisis.
"One of them lost 16 family members all at once. They were also threatened and warned while they were discharging their duties in Gaza.
"They were forced to move homes and their family members were even killed.
"I am here in Malaysia but my mind is there as I am truly concerned for my family members there," he said after the Save Press 4 Gaza (SP4G) gathering by 26 media clubs, associations and unions at Dataran Merdeka today.
Western journalists reporting in Gaza, he said, should not only report on the propaganda of the Zionist regime as it did not paint the truth of what is happening there.
Earlier, more than 100 members of the press came together to express solidarity with their counterparts in Gaza where at least 42 journalists have been killed in the conflict.
SP4G has also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.