Convoy sets off for Gaza from Tunisia to protest Israeli blockade

Euronews

4 hours ago

A convoy of buses and private cars departed from Tunisia's capital on Monday headed to Gaza as part of efforts to spotlight Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the territory, as Israeli authorities stopped a high-profile flotilla from landing there.
The overland effort, organised independently but moved up to coincide with the flotilla, is made up of activists, lawyers and medical professionals from North Africa.
It plans to traverse Tunisia, Libya and Egypt before reaching Rafah, the border crossing with Egypt that has remained largely closed since Israel's military took control of the Gaza side in May 2024.
The Tunisian civil society groups behind the convoy said their aim is to demand "the immediate lifting of the unjust siege on the strip."
They asserted that Arab governments haven't pushed enough to end the 20-month war between Israel and Hamas.
After an almost three-month blockade of Gaza aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing in some basic aid last month.
Experts have warned of famine in the territory of over 2 million people unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive.
The convoy set off as the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an aid ship that set sail from Sicily earlier this month, was seized by Israeli forces in what activists said were international waters.
Those aboard, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, were detained and will be deported home.
The overland convoy drew widespread attention in Tunisia and Algeria, where it began on Sunday, with some people waving Palestinian flags and chanting in support of the people of Gaza.
"This convoy speaks directly to our people in Gaza and says, 'You are not alone. We share your pain and suffering," Yahia Sarri, one of the convoy's Algerian organisers, wrote on social media.
The North African activists do not expect their convoy to be allowed into Gaza.
Regardless, it provides "a message of challenge and will," said Saher al-Masri, a Tunis-based Palestinian activist.
Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.
Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's population.
The convoy plans to gather supporters in towns south of Tunis before crossing into Libya, where clashes between rival militias have turned deadlier in recent months.
Organisers said they planned the land crossings with relevant authorities leading up to the convoy's departure.
An explosion and subsequent fire were reported onboard a Singapore-flagged container ship off the coast of Kerala in southern India on Monday, a spokesperson for the Indian Coastguard said.
Of the 22 crew members onboard the MV Wan Hai 503, 18 abandoned the vessel with assistance from the Indian Navy and coastguard while four are missing, Commandant Amit Uniyal said in a statement.
One of the rescued crew members sustained serious injuries.
Two of the four missing are nationals of Taiwan, one is from Indonesia and one from Myanmar, Uniyal said.
The navy and coastguard have launched a search operation for the missing, aided by a Dornier aircraft.
The navy uses Dornier aircraft primarily for maritime surveillance, search and rescue operations.
A number of ships have also been sent to help put out the fire some 88 nautical miles (162 km) from the coast of Beypore in Kerala.
"The vessel is presently adrift, and firefighting efforts have commenced to bring the situation under control," said Uniyal.
"Saving lives of the crew in distress, firefighting and mitigating environment hazard remains the priority for coastguard."
He said they were working to establish the details of the ship's cargo and any potential risks it could cause.
The 271-metre vessel left the Sri Lankan port of Colombo on 7 June and was set to arrive in Mumbai on Monday.
The coastguard received a distress alert from the ship Monday morning reporting an explosion and subsequent fire inside one of the containers onboard.
The fire later spread to other containers.
The coastguard has not yet given the cause of the explosion and fire.
The vessel is managed by Singapore-based Wan Hai Lines, according to a statement from Singaporean authorities.
Late last month, a Liberia-flagged container ship sailing between the Indian ports of Vizinjam and Kochi sank off Kerala.
The state government issued a high alert in its coastal areas and asked fishermen not to venture near the site where the container ship, which carried hazardous cargo, had sunk.