Sources: Egypt deports more activists seeking to march to Gaza border
Egyptian authorities have continued to send home foreign activists, who are trying to march to Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian enclave, sources at Cairo airport said on Saturday.
Dozens of activists of different nationalities were prevented from entering Egypt for violating the country's entry procedures and were deported on the same planes that had earlier brought them to Cairo, the sources said on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
The aircraft were not granted permission to take off until the deportation procedures were completed, a measure that caused several flights to be delayed by 20-40 minutes, according to the sources.
Participants in the self-styled "Global March to Gaza" had originally planned to travel from Cairo to the Egyptian city of al-Arish in Sinai, where they were to walk for about 50 kilometres to Rafah on the border with Gaza.
The activists also planned to protest at the Rafah border crossing for several days starting on Sunday.
Protests are heavily restricted in Egypt.
Organizers said many participants had been detained, harassed, physically harmed and deported.
Hundreds of activists were detained on Friday in the Egyptian city of Ismailia near the Suez Canal and had their passports confiscated, a security source said.
Carola Rackete, a lawmaker in the European Parliament from Germany's The Left party, posted a video on Instagram on Friday in which she said she was turned away at one of the checkpoints.
She and the other activists were purportedly loaded by force onto buses by security forces and sent back to Cairo. There was massive police violence, Rackete said in a second video posted Saturday.
There was no official Egyptian comment.
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Los Angeles Times
4 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Immigration raids continue, sparking more anxiety
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'If you looked Hispanic in any way, they just took you,' Zaldivar said. The number of people swept up from the raid remains unclear. Shortly after the raid, swap meet officials postponed the concert. 'Later we will provide details,' the Instagram post said. Swap meet officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 17-acre outdoor hub first opened in 1965. Known as a hot spot for música Mexicana, the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet hosts an outdoor concert every weekend. Other popular Latino swap meets in Los Angeles appeared similarly vacant amid the ongoing ICE raids. The Whittier Swap Meet closed last week in preparation for possible raids. The Whittier Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The tensions were also felt at a major soccer game Saturday evening. Waving Mexican flags and signs criticizing President Trump, about 300 people overtook sidewalks in Inglewood on Saturday afternoon in the hours leading up to the soccer game between the Mexican and Dominican Republic national teams. Esmeralda Sanchez, who was not attending the game at SoFi Stadium, said she came to the rally to support family members and friends who are not in the country legally. 'We are the voice that our parents and the older generation couldn't be today,' Sanchez said over the sound of horns and cheers. The parking lot outside the stadium felt relatively subdued, with some fans making carne asada on portable grills and others waving Mexican flags. Emilio Estrada and Ashley Ruiz from Bakersfield posed for a photo in front of the lake by the stadium, saying their parents had been fretting about their visit to L.A. 'My mom kept calling me as we drove down,' Estrada said. Jesse Murillo of Orange County said attending the game to support the Mexican national team felt like a clear sign of protest against the federal government. 'We're not afraid to come out here and show our colors,' he said. 'No matter what, our people have always found a way to be here.' His friend Richard Barrera said many people were afraid because so much information, and misinformation, is ricocheting around social media. 'So many people are living in fear and that seems unfair, because you see so much online and then it turns out ICE isn't there,' Barrera said. Across the street from the stadium, Inglewood native Jorge Gomez said he had been nervous about attending any protests because of the immigration raids playing out across Southern California. 'I've been trying to be more wary, be more careful,' he said. 'I shouldn't be out here, but I am — because deep down inside is something that keeps telling me that this is wrong and I need to stand up.' Taqueros, fruteros and other street vendors are emptying the streets of Los Angeles amid widespread immigration sweeps, fearing their own arrest and deportation. But a Koreatown-based nonprofit recently launched a fundraiser to offset lost wages, donating to cover rent, utilities and other necessities — and allowing vendors to stay home. 'The reason they were out there, even though it's so dangerous to their safety right now,' is because the rent is so high and they have bills,' said Andreina Kniss, an organizer and longtime volunteer at Ktown for All. 'We got together and we said, 'Every day we can keep them off the streets is a day they're safer.'' Ktown for All is sourcing donations through Venmo, with account information posted to Instagram, then discreetly distributing them to dozens of street vendors to cover 30 days of rent and bills. According to Kniss, they've raised more than $50,000 in the last week. Since its founding in 2018, Ktown for All has focused most of its efforts on advocating for Koreatown's unhoused population and distributing resources such as water, blankets, laundry kits and prepared foods. In the course of feeding this demographic, members of Ktown for All built connections with the neighborhood's street vendors. In times of economic vendor hardship such as rainy seasons or emergencies like January's fires, the nonprofit launched a 'vendor buy-out' initiative to help sustain them. Donated funds 'buy out' food such as tamales and tacos from the vendors, then Ktown for All's volunteers distribute them to those in the nonprofit is approaching vendors in Koreatown and asking, 'What would it take to get you off the street?' Many vendors are simply being paid without supplying food.'We're street vendors,' one donation recipient told Ktown for All. Their name was withheld to maintain anonymity. 'We're afraid to go out, and all we want is to work for our families.' 'A lot of them are in hiding with no financial support right now,' said Kniss. 'It's really nauseating having to pick [between] paying your bills or being kidnapped.' For Kniss, the cause is personal. She was raised in a family of immigrants and farm workers on the Central Coast, and became a U.S. citizen herself five years ago. 'Having been one of those families that had lived in fear, seeing the way that our street vendors were living in terror, really struck my heart,' she said. The nonprofit plans to fundraise for the 'vendor buy-out' until ICE leaves Los Angeles or until the money runs out, and is regularly finding new street vendors to support through its network. The program's reach is already expanding beyond Koreatown, aiding a frutero in Echo Park, a hot dog seller in downtown and response from the community, Kniss said, is overwhelming. She hopes other mutual-aid organizations will 'copy' the method.'I thought the extreme 'fears' of having my family ripped apart from me as a little boy were just exaggerations,' another anonymous vendor wrote to Ktown for All. 'But now this administration [has] resurfaced those same fears and have terrorized the most genuine, kind and hard-working immigrants I've known for my entire life.'
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
Videos, Pictures Show Aftermath of Iranian Strikes on Tel Aviv
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An image shared by Israeli authorities after overnight strikes by Iran on the country, including central Tel Aviv. Israel Police Tehran then launched waves of drone and missile strikes on Israeli territory. Israel said it had intercepted "most" of the missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles. Both sides have continued firing at one another in the days since. Iran canceled planned negotiations with the U.S. on its nuclear program on Sunday, and both sides indicated they would launch further strikes. Trump wrote ion Truth Social that "many calls and meetings now taking place" to secure "PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran." The fate of the talks is not clear. Tonight, once again, the Iranian regime deliberately targeted Israeli civilians as they slept. 8 people killed, including 4 children. Over 200 injured. 35 still missing. Families torn apart. Iran targets innocents. Israel targets nuclear and military sites - to stop the world's… — Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 15, 2025 What To Know The Israeli military said on Sunday afternoon local time that sirens were sounding across the country after Iran launched an unspecified number of missiles. Local media later reported the alerts had ended. Iranian state media said the military had attacked the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Haifa, in the north, and Ashkelon in the south. At least seven people were killed and more than 100 injured when an Iranian ballistic missile hit Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv, overnight on Sunday, domestic media reported. Other reports put the death toll at six people. Israel's police said residential buildings took a "direct hit that caused extensive damage." Fresh alerts were activated in Israel on Sunday afternoon after Iranian overnight strikes targeted southern Tel Aviv. Fresh alerts were activated in Israel on Sunday afternoon after Iranian overnight strikes targeted southern Tel Aviv. Israel Police Another four people were killed in Tamra, a Palestinian-Israeli town in Israel's north, authorities said. A total of 13 people have been killed in Israel since Friday, and nearly 400 more injured, Israeli authorities said. Nine of the injured were reported to be in a serious condition. Renewed explosions were also reported in the Iranian capital on Sunday afternoon. Initial reports suggested several bombs had detonated in Tehran. An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson declined to confirm or deny Israeli involvement. Israel's armed forces had warned Iranians close to military sites to immediately leave the area. Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, a spokesperson for the Israeli military, said in a briefing at 5 p.m. on Sunday (10 a.m. ET) that Israeli warplanes had been operating in Iranian airspace for more than 50 hours. 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Tehran has maintained its nuclear development is peaceful, but the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned it has dramatically increased uranium enrichment to levels very close to what would be needed to produce a weapon. The IAEA said on Thursday Iran was not cooperating with its nuclear obligations for the first time in two decades. Trump has threatened Iran with "bombing the likes of which they have never seen before" if it does not ink a deal limiting its program. The president said on Friday he had given Iran "chance after chance to make a deal." What People Are Saying Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Aragchi, said on Saturday that talks between Iran and the U.S. on the nuclear program were "unjustifiable" while Israeli strikes continued. What Happens Next Trump said on Sunday: "Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal."
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Stars turn out for 'No Kings' protests: Mark Ruffalo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and more
Hollywood stars made their voices heard on a day of protest against President Donald Trump. Mark Ruffalo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Glenn Close were among the celebrities who marched in "No Kings Day" protests around the country on Saturday, June 14. The rallies against the Trump administration occurred on the same day that the president held a controversial military parade in Washington, marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. Both events also corresponded with Flag Day and Trump's 79th birthday. Ruffalo turned out at a rally in New York, where he delivered a passionate speech. The "Avengers" actor, who was joined by "Broad City" stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, said that the Trump administration is "trampling on our rights and our laws and our freedoms," adding, "We're gonna have to be brave if we want to be free." The actor also told his fellow protesters, "It's on us, guys. Literally, together, we're the Avengers now. No one's going to come and save us, man. Americans unite." Susan Sarandon was photographed attending the same New York rally as Ruffalo and marching alongside him, holding an American flag. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Louis-Dreyfus also attended a rally and shared a photo of herself on Instagram holding a sign that read, "The only monarch I like is a butterfly." She posed for a photo with Kerry Washington, who shared several pictures of herself with fellow rally-goers "marching, speaking up, and fighting for Democracy." In an Instagram video, Close said she was "happy to be" demonstrating in Bozeman, Montana, and joining those standing up "for the America that we know and love." Jimmy Kimmel attended a rally in Los Angeles with his parents and shared a photo of himself on Instagram wearing a handmade shirt that read "Make America Good Again." He wrote that he met "many people who love this country and still believe it to be a force for good." "I know how fortunate I am to have been born into a family that taught me to care about others and that the most important words ever spoken are 'Love one another,' " Kimmel said. "It really is as simple as that." Other stars who took part in the protests include Sarah Silverman, who shared photos where she held a sign that read, "No Kings Yas Queens," and Ayo Edebiri, who in a photo shared to her Instagram Stories marched with a sign that read, "Don't Tread On Us You Creeps!" "The White Lotus" star Natasha Rothwell also attended a rally holding a sign that read, "You Are Trash."
