Egypt blocks activists aiming to march to Gaza to draw attention to humanitarian crisis
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Egypt blocked activists planning to take part in a march to Gaza, halting their attempt to reach the border and challenge Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory before it could begin.
To draw attention to the humanitarian crisis afflicting people in Gaza, marchers have for months planned to trek 30 miles (48 kilometers) across the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt's border with the enclave on Sunday to 'create international moral and media pressure' to open the crossing at Rafah and lift a blockade that has prevented aid from entering.
Authorities have deported more than three dozen activists, mostly carrying European passports, upon their arrival at the Cairo International Airport in the past two days, an Egyptian official said Thursday. The official said the activists aimed to travel to Northern Sinai 'without obtaining required authorizations.' The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief the media.
Egypt has publicly denounced the restrictions on aid entering Gaza and repeatedly called for an end to the war. It has said that the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing remains open, but access to the strip has been blocked since Israel seized the Palestinian side of the border as part of its war with Hamas that began in October 2023.
Food security experts warn the Gaza Strip will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn't lift its blockade and stop its military campaign . Nearly half a million Palestinians are facing possible starvation , and 1 million others can barely get enough food, according to findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority.
Israel has rejected the findings, saying the IPC's previous forecasts had proven unfounded. Sensitivities and security
The Egyptian government has for years clamped down on dissidents and activists when their criticism touches on Cairo's political and economic ties with Israel, a sensitive issue in neighboring countries where governments maintain diplomatic relations with Israel despite broad public sympathy for Palestinians.
Egypt had earlier warned that only those who received authorization would be allowed to travel the planned march route, acknowledging it had received 'numerous requests and inquiries.'
'Egypt holds the right to take all necessary measures to preserve its national security, including the regulation of the entry and movement of individuals within its territory, especially in sensitive border areas,' its foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Israel Katz, Israel's defense minister, yesterday referred to the protestors as 'jihadists' and called on Egypt to prevent them from reaching the border with Gaza. He said they 'endanger the Egyptian regime and constitute a threat to all moderate Arab regimes in the region.'
The march is set to begin just days after a large convoy, which organizers said included thousands of activists, traveled overland across North Africa to Egypt. Marchers detained in Cairo
Activists and attorneys said airport detentions and deportations began Wednesday with no explicit reason given by Egyptian authorities.
Algerian attorney Fatima Rouibi wrote on Facebook that Algerians, including three lawyers, were detained at the airport on Wednesday before being released and ultimately deported back to Algiers on Thursday. Bilal Nieh, a Tunisian activist who lives in Germany, said he was deported along with seven others from northern Africa who also hold European passports.
He wrote on Facebook early Thursday that authorities 'didn't give any reason or document stating the reason for deportation.'
Governments of countries whose citizens were reportedly detained or deported, including France, had not issued any public comment on the activists as of Thursday morning.
Organizers said in a statement that they had received reports that at least 170 participants had been delayed or detained in Cairo. They said they had followed the protocols laid out by Egyptian authorities, met with them and urged them to let march participants into the country.
'We look forward to providing any additional information the Egyptian authorities require to ensure the march continues peacefully as planned to the Rafah border,' they said in a statement.
The Global March to Gaza is the latest civil society effort pressing for the entry of food, fuel, medical supplies, and other aid into Gaza. Israel imposed a total blockade in March in an attempt to pressure Hamas to disarm and to release hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.
It slightly eased restrictions last month, allowing limited aid in, but experts warn the measures fall far short.
Israel's offensive has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians or combatants.
__
Natalie Melzer contributed reporting from Nahariya, Israel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
17 minutes ago
- New York Times
Israel's Strike on Iran Comes at a Moment of Weakness for Iran's Proxies
For four decades, Iran poured billions of dollars, weapons and military minds into a grand defense project: building up a network of anti-Israel militias in the Middle East known as the 'Axis of Resistance' that would join Iran if a war with Israel broke out. The stunning series of Israeli strikes on Iran on Friday underscored just how degraded that axis has become over the past year, with few expecting those armed groups to meaningfully respond to the Israeli aggression, experts say. In the clearest sign of that weakened stance, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, seen as Iran's most powerful proxy, condemned the Israeli attack in a statement but stopped short of vowing any military action in response — a notable omission from a group that has long served as the central pillar of the axis. 'The axis hasn't been fully destroyed, but it has been significantly diminished beyond the point of return,' said Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. 'It has been transformed into an axis of sitting ducks waiting for the next Israeli strikes rather than taking initiative and pushing Israel into the defense, as was the case just a few years ago.' Iran fostered the web of armed groups — including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis of Yemen and militias in Iraq — to enable them to carry out attacks on Israel and to provide Iran with valuable allies in the region that could serve as a deterrent against Israeli attacks on Iran itself. After the deadly Hamas-led attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel's devastating invasion of Gaza, many of those groups carried out their own strikes against Israel. But in the year and a half since, Israel launched audacious attacks on those militias in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, and the response from the Axis has grown increasingly muted. In Lebanon, Hezbollah is battered after its 14-month war with Israel that wiped out the group's top brass, destroyed large chunks of its arsenal and left the country with a multibillion-dollar bill for reconstruction. Its stinging defeat also spurred political momentum against the group, undoing its once iron grip on Lebanon's politics, after many Lebanese blamed Hezbollah for dragging the country into one of its deadliest and most destructive wars.
Newsweek
21 minutes ago
- Newsweek
A Message to Progressive America
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Many American progressives often claim to stand for universal human rights. But for the past 20 months, many have remained silent—or worse—when Jews and Israelis have been the victims. It has been 615 days since my brother-in-law, Omri Miran, was kidnapped by Hamas. On Oct. 7, 2023, he was taken from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz after being held at gunpoint with my sister, Lishay, and their daughters—Roni and Alma. They watched their neighbors slaughtered. They saw their community set ablaze. And then Omri was dragged into Gaza. Lishay and the girls were left behind, terrified and unsure if they would survive until they were rescued. Hostage Omri Miran and his family are pictured. Hostage Omri Miran and his family are pictured. Photo Courtesy of the Miran Family We still don't know where Omri is, what condition he's in, or whether he's being fed, tortured, and held in isolation. The little we know comes from two psychological warfare videos Hamas released—one in April 2024, the other just weeks ago, 12 days after his 48th birthday. Omri is one of 53 hostages still in Hamas captivity—people whose names and lives you never speak, never ask about, never make space for. For nearly 20 months, you've ignored them. Too often, you've desecrated them—reducing their abduction to a "consequence of the occupation," tearing their faces off lampposts, or dismissing their suffering as politically inconvenient. Worse, some have justified their captivity, recasting evil terrorism as "resistance." This isn't a critique of everyone who supports progressive causes. It's directed at the gatekeepers—the ones who shape discourse and decide whose pain is worthy of acknowledgment. The ones who denounce certain forms of extremism but excuse others flourishing in their own ranks. I live in New York. I studied at your elite universities, marched with you at your Pride parades, worked alongside you. I speak your language—the language of rights and justice, of liberation and solidarity. But somehow, that clarity ends when it comes to us—Israelis and Jews. Hostage Omri Miran's daughters are pictured. Hostage Omri Miran's daughters are pictured. Photo Courtesy of the Miran Family You march for Palestinian rights but say nothing about the 53 civilians still held in underground tunnels, the 250 kidnapped, or the 1,200 murdered on October 7. You twist terms like colonialism and rewrite history to fit your narrative, yet say nothing about generations of Israelis who have endured war and terrorism fueled by Arab rejectionism and radicalism. You speak of generational trauma, but when Jewish families live it in real time—when my nieces cry for the father they may never see again—you look away. And your silence has consequences. On May 22, two Israeli Embassy staffers were fatally shot outside a Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. A week later, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a peaceful "Run for Their Lives" rally in Boulder, Colo.—held to raise awareness about the hostages. At both events, the attackers shouted antisemitic slurs and invoked the now-familiar cry, "Free Palestine!" These are not isolated incidents. They are the product of a culture where violence against Jews is tolerated—so long as the victims are framed as symbols of a government you oppose. A world where hostage-taking is rebranded as "resistance," and antisemitism is recast as righteous anger. No, you didn't throw the Molotov cocktails or pull the trigger. But you helped shape a world where those acts are no longer shocking. Through the slogans you chant, the disinformation you share, the posters you rip down—you've blurred the line between activism and hate. Some go even further, treating American Jews as stand-ins for a government 6,000 miles away. This op-ed is not a demand for allegiance. It's a plea for coherence—for a moral compass that doesn't shift based on identity. If you believe in human rights, believe in them for us too. If you oppose oppression, then condemn what Hamas has done—not only to Israeli families but also to its own people. Hamas has brought nothing but suffering to Palestinians, subjecting them to an authoritarian Islamist rule, child conscription, and endless war. This is not about politics. It's about people. About Omri. About the 52 others still trapped in Gaza. About families—many of whom still don't know if they will ever say goodbye. You can oppose Israeli policy. You can support Palestinian aspirations. But if you cannot bring yourself to denounce hostage-taking and the deliberate murder of civilians in your own country—or worse, if you justify it—then your movement isn't about justice. It's about something else entirely. And one day, when the slogans fade and the reckoning comes, you may look in the mirror—and, like Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde's novel, be horrified by what you see staring back. Omri is a father. A therapist. A gardener. He is not a symbol or a number. He is a human being who deserves to come home. Say his name. Say all their names. Acknowledge their suffering. Demand their release And if you can't, then be honest enough to admit that your vision of liberation does not include us. Moshe Emilio Lavi was born in Sderot, Israel. He is a former captain of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and now works as a management consultant in New York City. His brother-in-law Omri Miran is a hostage in Gaza. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Hamilton Spectator
21 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
California Legislature to back proposal to freeze health care access for some immigrants
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers will vote Friday on a budget proposal to freeze enrollment in a state-funded health care program for immigrants without legal status to help close a $12 billion deficit. Their plan is a scaled-back version of a proposal Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced in May. California, with the largest state budget in the country, is facing a deficit for the third year in a row. This year's budget shortfall has forced Democratic leaders to start cutting back on several liberal policy priorities, including to the landmark health care expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status. The vote comes as tensions escalate in Los Angeles over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown across Southern California. As protesters took to the streets and, at times, clashed with law enforcement in dayslong demonstrations , Trump said protests had turned violent and activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders. The demonstrations have largely been peaceful. California has sued the federal government to stop the deployment. The decision to freeze Medicaid enrollment highlights Democratic state leaders' struggle to protect progressive priorities against budget challenges. Illinois and Minnesota, also led by Democratic governors, are on track to end health care access to low-income adults without legal status after facing budget shortfalls. It is not the state's final spending plan. Newsom and legislative leaders are still negotiating solutions before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. Lawmakers must pass a balanced budget by Sunday or else they would forfeit their salaries. Democratic state leaders are also bracing for potential federal cuts to health care programs and other broad economic uncertainty such as federal tariff policies that could force them to make even deeper cuts. Republican lawmakers say the Legislature's budget doesn't do enough to rein in costs ahead of future deficits. 'We have a structural deficit of ongoing programs continuing to increase at a greater rate than revenues are increasing,' state Sen. Roger Niello said. 'So far, there's nothing seen to reverse that.' Freezing access and adding premiums The state has more than 1.6 million people without legal status enrolled in its health care program this fiscal year, according to the budget. Under Newsom's plan, low-income adults without legal status would no longer be eligible to apply for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, starting in 2026. Those who are already enrolled wouldn't be kicked off their plans but would have to start paying a $100 monthly premium in 2027. State officials said the plan would help curb future spending and save $5.4 billion by fiscal year 2028-2029. Lawmakers mostly agreed on the plan to halt enrollment for adults without legal status, but their proposal also includes a provision to allow people to reenroll within six months if they lose coverage for missing payment. The monthly premium would also lower by roughly a third to $30 and would only apply to adults between 19 and 59 under the Legislature's plan. The proposal would save roughly $3.8 billion by fiscal year 2027-2028. The proposals would likely result in people losing coverage because they can't afford the premiums and send more people into emergency rooms, advocates said. 'This is no way to respond to concerns about the health and safety of communities that power our economy and contribute billions in state taxes,' said Masih Fouladi, Executive Director of the California Immigrant Policy Center. Democrats divided California was among one of the first states to extend free health care benefits to all low-income adults regardless of their immigration status, an ambitious plan touted by Newsom to help the nation's most populous state inch closer to a goal of universal health care. But the cost ran billions more than the administration had anticipated and is projected to keep growing. California provides free health care to more than a third of its 39 million people. Several Democrats said the Medicaid enrollment freeze does not align with California values, adding the Legislature is breaking promises to taxpayers. 'People have already a decreased amount of trust in government and when we continue to go back on our words, it makes it even harder,' State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Democrat, said of the proposal at a hearing this week. Democratic state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson defended the budget proposal, saying that the plan is not cutting benefits to people who are already enrolled as Legislature also avoided more devastating cuts in social services. Lawmakers rejected the governor's plan to cut funding for a program providing in-home domestic and personal care services for some low-income residents and Californians with disabilities. They also rejected a proposal that would have cut funding for Planned Parenthood's budget by a third. 'No one who is currently covered will lose their health care coverage,' she said.
