Malaysia has no diplomatic ties with Israel and Anwar has defended the country’s ties with Hamas, which launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures, including hostages who died in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 42,000 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which the UN has described as reliable.
Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 97 are still being held in Gaza, and 34 have been declared dead by the Israeli army.
The photo was shared in similar posts on Facebook And TikTok after Malaysia welcomed 40 injured Palestinian citizens for medical treatment (archived link).
Evacuation of Gaza
A Google reverse image search revealed that the photo was published by The New Straits Times (NST) newspaper on November 14, 2023 (archived link).
The article reported on the “emotional reunion” between Malaysian woman Nurul Ain Haron and her family at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after she and her Palestinian husband Mohamed AM Shat were evacuated from Gaza.
Anwar has four daughters, but none are named Nurul Ain Haron. His daughters are Nurul Izzah Anwar, Nurul Ilham Anwar, Nurul Nuha Anwar and Nurul Hana Anwar.
AFP could not independently verify whether any of them have a Palestinian spouse.
The New Straits Times published one video shows the couple’s reunion with Nurul Ain’s family at the airport (archived link).
The newspaper also wrote in one fact checking that the couple “were not related in any way” to the Prime Minister (archived link).
“The screenshot is actually that of a Malaysian, Nurul Ain Haron, and her Palestinian husband Mohamed AM Shaat,” the newspaper said.
Nurul Ain also posted one video on August 27, she debunked false claims about her husband, clarifying that she was not related to Anwar (archived link).
“It is true that the Prime Minister and the government helped me evacuate from Gaza, but I am not related to him,” she said in Malay.
“To those spreading this false claim: please stop.”
