Tunisia activists launch Gaza-bound convoy in ‘symbolic act'
TUNIS: Hundreds of people, mainly Tunisians, launched on Monday a land convoy bound for Gaza, seeking to 'break the siege' on the Palestinian territory, activists said.
Organisers said the nine-bus convoy was not bringing aid into Gaza, but rather aimed at carrying out a 'symbolic act' by breaking the blockade on the territory described by the United Nations as 'the hungriest place on Earth'.
The 'Soumoud' convoy, meaning 'steadfastness' in Arabic, includes doctors and aims to arrive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, 'by the end of the week', activist Jawaher Channa told AFP.
It is set to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Cairo has yet to provide passage permits, she added.
'We are about a thousand people, and we will have more join us along the way,' said Channa, spokeswoman of the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine, the group organising the caravan.
'Egypt has not yet given us permission to cross its borders, but we will see what happens when we get there,' she said.
Channa said the convoy was not set to face issues crossing Libya, 'whose people have historically supported the Palestinian cause', despite recent deadly clashes in the country that remains divided between two governments.
Algerian, Mauretanian, Moroccan and Libyan activists were also among the group, which is set to travel along the Tunisian and Libyan coasts, before continuing on to Rafah through Egypt.
After 21 months of war, Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.
On June 1, the Madleen aid boat, boarded by activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and European parliament member Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan, set sail for Gaza from Italy.
But on Monday morning Israel intercepted it, preventing it from reaching the Palestinian territory.
The UN has warned that the Palestinian territory's entire population is at risk of famine.
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