Police station stormed in Egypt as outrage over Gaza blockade reaches boiling point

Middle East Eye

5 days ago

On the night of 25 July 2025, a group of young Egyptians launched a bold attack that shook Egypt's political order.
Calling themselves 'Iron 17,' they stormed the State Security headquarters at the Ma'asara police station in Helwan, detaining several security personnel for hours in an unprecedented act, the first of its kind since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's rise to power in 2013 as president.
More than just an attack on a government building, the raid, captured in viral videos, exposed mounting public fury that could threaten Sisi's grip on power. Much of this anger stems from Egypt's role in the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the closure of the Rafah crossing.
Since Israel seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in May 2024, Gaza's humanitarian crisis has worsened, with dozens, mainly children, dying of starvation according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Egyptian regime, denying responsibility for the closure, faces accusations of failing to pressure for its reopening. This stance has fuelled public outrage, with many seeing it as capitulation to Israeli and US pressures at the expense of the Palestinian cause.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Adding fuel to the fire, North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer, in a Friday interview with pro-regime journalist Mustafa Bakri, admitted Egypt cannot forcibly reopen Rafah due to US opposition, a statement critics view as an implicit admission of Cairo's role in the closure.
Security lapse exploited during Friday prayers
Through the Telegram channel 'Nation's Flood,' which has nearly 50,000 subscribers, footage emerged showing young men inside the Ma'asara State Security office, holding officers captive for hours.
The videos, viewed millions of times, showed the group condemning the closure of the Rafah crossing, a lifeline for Gaza's besieged population, and the arrests of activists collecting aid for the enclave.
In one chilling exchange, a detained officer responded to demands to reopen Rafah with a single word: 'Impossible.' These clips are not just documentation; they stand as a testament to a people fed up with a regime they accuse of complicity in Gaza's suffering.
The question of how the group accessed a high-security facility was quickly answered.
Displaced Palestinian children chat with an Egyptian soldier standing guard behind the fence between Egypt and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 26, 2024 (AFP)
Leaked documents, posted on the same Telegram channel, revealed lists of individuals under Egypt's notorious 'security monitoring' programme, which requires released prisoners to check in regularly at police stations. One video explained that the group chose Friday prayers on 25 July for their operation, taking advantage of lax security during that time.
Former detainees corroborated this, noting the ease of accessing the State Security office on the fourth floor for routine check-ins, a gap the group exploited to enter and detain personnel.
The leaked documents also exposed names of current detainees and forcibly disappeared individuals linked to charges like protesting or alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. They included security classifications, labelling people as Brotherhood members, Salafists, or sympathisers.
The FactCheckar, an independent fact-checking initiative, in a detailed analysis on its official Facebook page, confirmed the authenticity of some names, including Fathi Rajab Hassan Ahmed and Ahmed Nadi Haddad Darwish, both tied to the 'Helwan Brigades' case, and Abdel Rahman Ramadan Mohamed Abdel Shafi, previously listed as forcibly disappeared in a 2024 report by the Shahab Center for Human Rights.
Egyptian response: denial and deflection
Egypt's Interior Ministry quickly issued a statement denying the videos' authenticity, claiming they were fabricated as part of a Muslim Brotherhood-led conspiracy.
Exclusive: Egypt presidency forced Al-Azhar to delete statement condemning Israel's starvation of Gaza Read More »
While it announced arrests of those involved in spreading the footage, it avoided addressing the validity of the leaked documents, merely stating they were unrelated to the incident.
This knee-jerk denial, a familiar tactic, failed to mask the ministry's embarrassment and fuelled criticism that the regime is trapped in denial, dismissing legitimate grievances as foreign plots.
A subsequent video from 'Nation's Flood' showed one of the young men, bloodied and with torn clothes, insisting they were not terrorists and had used an empty sound pistol, aiming only to send a message. He sought assurances from a detained officer that they would not be harmed if released.
Still, communication with the group abruptly ceased, and all prior messages on the Telegram channel vanished, raising questions about whether security forces had seized control of the channel or its administrators had deleted the content.
Iron 17's manifesto: a call to awaken society
Hours before the channel went silent, it released an audio statement styled like Palestinian faction communiques, claiming responsibility for the 'Iron 17' operation.
The statement, attributed to Ahmed Abdel Wahab and Mohsen Mustafa, rejected any political affiliations, describing themselves as 'heirs of Omar ibn al-Khattab and Amr ibn al-Aas' seeking to revive Egypt's national spirit. The figures in question refers to invoking early Islamic military and political leaders that symbolised strength, justice, and national revival.
Their message was clear: end the genocide in Gaza and stop repressing Egyptians. Addressing the Egyptian people, they decried the 'severe blows' inflicted on the nation and vowed to rouse it from its 'death.'
Italian and European parliament members hold placards during a protest in front of the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, calling for aid to be allowed into the Gaza on May 18, 2025 (AFP)
Social media buzzed with polarised reactions. Some doubted the videos' authenticity, while others saw them as a genuine outcry.
Critics blamed the regime's relentless repression and heavy-handed security measures for pushing people to such extremes. Others, echoing the government narrative, accused the Muslim Brotherhood and regional actors of orchestrating a plot to destabilise Egypt with fake videos and misinformation.
On Saturday morning, the Egyptian presidency's spokesperson posted a brief statement about a meeting between Sisi and Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfiq, without detailing its agenda. Pro-regime outlets suggested it discussed security updates and an upcoming reshuffle of Interior Ministry officers, though it remains unclear whether Sisi addressed the Ma'asara incident or considered dismissing Tawfiq.
Political fallout: a regime under pressure
The Ma'asara incident was not an isolated act. It followed a wave of protests the previous week outside Egyptian embassies in European capitals, sparked by activist Anas Habib in the Netherlands, who symbolically locked embassy gates to protest the Rafah closure.
These actions spread to other cities, amplifying the message that Egyptians, both at home and abroad, reject what they see as complicity in Gaza's plight. The Ma'asara operation builds on this momentum, showing that anger is translating into bold action.
Lebanese security forces block the road leading to the Egyptian embassy in Beirut during a protest against the closure of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip (AFP)
The Ma'asara storming, coupled with embassy protests, signals growing pressure on a regime already grappling with economic and social crises.
These actions could embolden opposition forces to organise further, especially amid intensifying repression. Sisi's reliance on brute force may backfire if public demands for Gaza and domestic reform are ignored. The current unrest echoes the spirit of the January 25 Revolution, hinting at a potential turning point where Egyptians reclaim their voice.
Ultimately, the Ma'asara incident stands as a resounding cry against injustice, both in Gaza and within Egypt. The regime faces a critical test: heed these voices or risk an escalation that could reshape the political landscape.