Latest news with #GlobalMarchToGaza
Al Jazeera
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Egypt, Libya stop activists gathering for March to Gaza, organisers say
Authorities in both Egypt and Libya have stopped activists seeking to break Israel's blockade on Gaza, protest organisers have said, with reports of more detentions and deportations taking place. 'Forty participants of the Global March to Gaza have had their passports taken at a checkpoint on the way out of Cairo,' the organisers of the Global March to Gaza said in a statement on Friday. 'They are being held in the heat and not allowed to move,' they continued, adding that another '15 are being held at hotels'. The activists are from France, Spain, Canada, Turkiye and the United Kingdom, it said, adding, 'We are a peaceful movement and we are complying with Egyptian law.' The group urged embassies to help secure their release so they could complete their voyage. Activists arrived in Egypt this week for the Global March to Gaza, a grassroots initiative aiming to pressure Israel to allow the delivery of aid and humanitarian supplies to Gaza's starving population. Organisers said that participants from 80 countries were set to begin their march towards Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza, with about 4,000 activists expected to take part. The overland protest was to coincide with other solidarity efforts, including a boat carrying aid and activists that was intercepted by the Israeli military earlier this week as it attempted to reach Gaza. According to plans outlined by organisers, participants were to travel by bus to El Arish, a city in the heavily securitised Sinai Peninsula, before walking the final 50km (30 miles) to Rafah. Protesters intended to camp near the border before returning to Cairo on June 19. However, Egyptian police stopped several groups of foreign nationals en route, forcing vehicles to pull over roughly 30km (20 miles) from Ismailia, just outside the Sinai. Activists said police ordered passengers with non-Egyptian passports to disembark, blocking their passage to Rafah. Paul Murphy, an independent Irish member of parliament, who has travelled to Egypt to take part, said in a post on X, 'We have had our passports confiscated and are being detained. It seems Egyptian authorities have decided to crack down on the Great March To Gaza.' Security sources told the Reuters news agency that at least 88 individuals had been detained or deported from Cairo airport and other locations across the country. Three airport sources told Reuters that at least 73 foreign nationals were deported on a flight to Istanbul for violating entry protocols, with about 100 more still awaiting deportation at the airport. Officials at Cairo International Airport said new directives were issued to airlines requiring all passengers travelling to Egypt between June 12 and 16 to hold confirmed return tickets, Reuters reported. Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that any visits to the Rafah border area must be coordinated in advance with Egyptian embassies or official bodies, citing security concerns in the Sinai. Organisers of the march maintain they coordinated the trip with authorities and called on the government to release those detained. Separately, a land convoy known as 'Soumoud', which had departed Tunisia carrying activists from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania, was stopped on Friday morning at the entrance to Sirte, a city in Libya under the control of forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar. 'The caravan was barred from passing through at the entrance to the city of Sirte,' Tunisian organiser Wael Naouar said in a video posted on Facebook. Naouar said the convoy needs Egyptian authorisation to reach Gaza but had received mixed messages from local security officials. 'Some told us we could cross in a few hours. Others insisted that 'Egypt has denied [passage] and therefore you will not pass,'' he said. On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the military to block demonstrators from entering Gaza from Egypt, claiming people involved were 'jihadist protesters'. 'I expect the Egyptian authorities to prevent them from reaching the Egypt-Israel border and not allow them to carry out provocations and try to enter Gaza,' he added. It comes as Israel continues its relentless air strikes on Gaza, while severely restricting the flow of aid, including food, water, and medical supplies, as humanitarian experts warn that the enclave could fall into full-scale famine unless Israel lifts the blockade.
Asharq Al-Awsat
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Egypt Deports Dozens More Foreign Nationals Heading for March to Gaza
Egyptian authorities on Friday detained or deported more foreign nationals seeking to join a pro-Palestinian march to Gaza. Hundreds of international activists arrived in Egypt this week for the Global March to Gaza, an initiative aimed at pressuring Israel to end its blockade of the enclave. Organizers said on Thursday people from 80 countries were set to begin the march to Egypt's Rafah Crossing with Gaza. Egypt's Foreign Ministry has said visits to the Rafah border region must be coordinated in advance with Egyptian embassies or government entities and underlined the need to follow official procedures to ensure safety and security. Organizers say they coordinated with Egyptian authorities and have urged the government to release those detained. Groups of foreign participants were being held at checkpoints, and sit-ins had begun at two locations on the road leading to the Rafah crossing, organizers said. They said police were stopping vehicles about 30 km (20 miles) from Ismailia, close to the Sinai peninsula, en route to Rafah, nearly 300 km away. Police were forcing passengers with non-Egyptian passports to disembark, they said. Security sources confirmed that at least 88 individuals had been detained or deported from Cairo airport and other locations. Officials at Cairo International Airport said new directives were issued to airlines requiring all passengers travelling to Egypt between June 12 and 16 to hold confirmed return tickets. Three airport sources told Reuters on Thursday at least 73 foreign nationals had been deported on a flight to Istanbul after authorities said they violated entry protocols, and that about 100 more were at the airport awaiting deportation. Israel's defense minister told the Israeli military on Wednesday to prevent demonstrators entering Gaza from Egypt, and said the march was a threat to Israeli and regional security.
Irish Times
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy detained in Egypt by the authorities
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has been detained on Friday afternoon along with a group of people who are travelling through Egypt to reach Rafah on the Global March to Gaza . The Egyptian authorities have confiscated their passports and are attempting to get Mr Murphy and the other marchers to board a bus without stating where the bus is going. At the moment they are refusing to board the bus, according to a People Before Profit statement. Mr Murphy posted a video on X showing protesters chanting 'Free, free Palestine' and 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'. We have had our passports confiscated and are being detained. It seems Egyptian authorities have decided to crack down on the — Paul Murphy 🇵🇸 (@paulmurphy_TD) He added: 'We have had our passports confiscated and are being detained. It seems Egyptian authorities have decided to crack down on the #GreatMarchToGaza . We are refusing to board the deportation bus." READ MORE Other protesters had their phones taken from them. 'It's looking worrying that the Egyptian authorities are trying to prevent our peaceful march to Gaza,' he said. 'I am asking people to redouble their efforts and get on to their governments, in our case Simon Harris (Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs ) to pressurise the Egyptian government to allow us to engage in our peaceful march. 'The world has watched an horrific genocide for the last 20 months. Since March there's been a total attempt at starvation and this is a peaceful march that western governments stop their complicity.' People Before Profit national secretary Matt Collins called on the Irish Government to contact the Egyptian authorities to demand the release of those detained. 'They are on a peaceful march to demand that humanitarian aid is delivered to starving people in Gaza. There is no reason for them to be detained,' he said. Mr Murphy is one of 50 Irish people who is participating in the global March To Gaza. People from 54 countries are taking part, and will march from Cairo to the Rafah Crossing at the border of Egypt and Palestine on Friday demanding aid be allowed in. The Egyptian embassy had been contacted for comment.
The Journal
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Irish activists traversing Egypt to reach start of major March to Gaza protest
IRISH ACTIVISTS ARE among thousands of participants starting to walk in the Global March to Gaza today, which has seen large numbers travel to Egypt to hold demonstrations at its border with Palestine. Participants who have arrived in Cairo will travel by bus to the Egyptian city of Al Arish in the north of the Sinai peninsula, where they will begin a 48km march to the Egyptian side of the Gaza border near Rafah. Organisers say their goal is 'absolutely not' to try to forcibly enter Gaza but to try to negotiate the opening of the Rafah terminal with Egyptian authorities to deliver humanitarian aid. However, Egypt has been creating hurdles for the movement, detaining more than 200 activists who had arrived in Cairo to attend the march. The world's leaders don't and won't act to end the starvation and slaughter of the Palestinian people. So people from around the world are coming together to march from #Cairo to #Rafah , starting today, to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and to #FreePalestine ! — Global March To Gaza (@globalmarchgaza) June 13, 2025 Several dozen Irish activists are among the thousands who have travelled to Egypt for the March, including People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, who arrived in Cairo last night and is travelling to the start point of the march. 'We're on the way,' Murphy said this morning, speaking to The Journal . Advertisement He said that it is 'still not entirely clear whether we'll be prevented from marching by the Egyptian authorities or not, but for now we're making progress towards Rafah'. Murphy said that the focus of the movement is on 'lifting the unbelievable starvation of the Palestinian people' which has 'half a million people on the verge of starvation' as a result of Israel blocking Gaza's access to food, water and medical supplies. Murphy said there are 'thousands of us here from 57 countries and about 50 people from Ireland' who are 'all united in horror at the genocide being inflicted on the Palestinians'. 'We want to do whatever we can to pressure Israel to stop and also to put pressure on our own governments to stop their complicity and to act instead of just giving words.' A spokesperson for the march said yesterday that more than 200 participants had been detained at Cairo airport or questioned at hotels in the city. The spokesperson, Saif Abukeshek, said that plainclothes officers entered hotels in Cairo with lists of names, questioned activists, and in some cases confiscated phones and searched through personal belongings. Some were released while others were arrested, detained for hours or deported. Israel has pressured Egyptian authorities to prevent participants from reaching the border with Gaza. Participants in the Global March to Gaza are aiming to arrive at the border on Sunday and camp there before returning to Cairo by next Thursday. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
CBC
a day ago
- Politics
- CBC
Dozens of Canadians gather in Egypt ahead of global march to Gaza border
Social Sharing Dozens of Canadians are expected to be among thousands of other activists gathering in Egypt this week ahead of a global march to its Gaza border as they call for an end to Israel's siege on the territory. As many as 84 Canadians were set to travel to Egypt to be part of the civilian-led effort, dubbed the Global March to Gaza, to draw international attention to the crisis and demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor to allow unimpeded aid access to Palestinians amid warnings of famine and starvation. Canadian organizer Tatiana Harker told CBC News that as of early Thursday afternoon, 50 of the roughly 80 Canadians have been allowed to enter amid reports of Egyptian authorities detaining and deporting activists involved in the planned march. So far, one Canadian was detained and questioned before he was denied entry with no reason given. "We're not expecting to breach the siege. We're not expecting to breach the borders. We're doing it in a [peaceful] humanitarian way," Harker said. Activists are expected to bus to Egypt's coastal city of Al-Arish on Thursday after arriving in Cairo, where the following day they will begin a three-day trek, sleeping in tents along the way to the Rafah crossing. The roughly 48-kilometre walk is expected to take several days. After reaching the Rafah area, they plan to camp there for roughly three more days before returning to Cairo, according to the coalition's website, though it noted that much of their plans will depend on authorization from Egyptian officials. At least 170 activists delayed, detained Activists and attorneys told The Associated Press that airport detentions and deportations began Wednesday with no explicit reason given by Egyptian authorities to detainees. March 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," organizers said in a statement. Harker, who is helping with coordinating Canadian travellers on the march, will remain in Canada. She said the organization had reached out to the federal government but did not hear back. The organization said participants were made aware of all of the possible risks that they could encounter including being turned away from entering the country and being detained. In a statement to CBC News Thursday, Global Affairs Canada said it advises Canadians to avoid all travel to the Governate of North Sinai in Egypt and to Gaza. "Canadians who choose to travel to the region do so at their own risk," it said. Harker, a member of Palestine Vivra and representative of the Canadian delegation in this march, said the Montreal-based organization was overwhelmed by the amount of applicants with more than 700 people applying to be involved but only 84 applicants approved. "We were expecting five Canadians in our delegation and we would have been happy. Because of logistics … we were not able to accept [everyone] willing to participate," Harker told CBC News on Tuesday. The planned march comes as a convoy of more than 1,000 people from the Maghreb, the Northwest African region, arrived in Libya on Tuesday awaiting permission to cross the eastern part of the country before heading toward Rafah. Unclear if planned march will go ahead 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 defence minister, referred to the protestors as "jihadists" on Wednesday 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." Kelsey Lyseng, a registered nurse in Edmonton, said while she has made plans in hopes of reaching the Rafah crossing, there are no guarantees that the march will not face obstacles along the way. "It's such a tense situation. Escalation can happen at any point, whether that's someone deciding that on the Egypt side or the Israeli side that this [march] is something they don't want to happen and they escalate in terms of just stopping us and turning us back," Lyseng told CBC News on Tuesday, ahead of her trip. "As we've seen with the Freedom Flotilla, that's a very real possibility." Earlier this week, Israeli forces seized the Madleen, a small aid ship, which was seeking to break a longstanding naval blockade of Gaza, and the 12-strong crew were brought to Israel before some were detained awaiting a court hearing on their legal status while others were deported back to their home countries. The incident comes after earlier attempts of aid boats trying to break Israel's naval blockade that has been imposed since 2007, and roughly one month after another ship bound for Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and activists was bombed by drones in international waters off Malta. Desire to show solidarity, help on the ground Lyseng said she has been saving for an opportunity to help in some way on the ground. "I honestly have wanted to go physically since October 7th because I've known about the dehumanization of Palestinians for seven or eight years now," she said. The Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed more than 1,200 people while 251 were taken hostage, according to Israel. Israel says there are still 56 hostages held by Hamas, with fewer than half believed to be alive. WATCH | Windsor, Ont., couple on why they are joining global march to Gaza: A Windsor couple preparing to join global march to Gaza border to protest war 7 days ago Duration 3:03 A Windsor Ont., couple is preparing to make the journey to the Middle East to join a peaceful global protest to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. CBC's Katerina Georgieva reports. Israel's campaign in Gaza has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, and reduced much of the territory to a wasteland. Lyseng, who works in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), said seeing images of malnourished children facing starvation and risk of famine is especially difficult for her. "Seeing babies in their incubators, just skin and bones [or] seeing a child have their entire family's house and all of their family members [killed] and he's sitting on the roof crying, asking for mom or literally anybody and there's no one for him," she said. "[Those scenes] stay in my memory forever as a moment of like, what the f–k are we doing? What are we doing as a society? What is the point of what we're doing right now?" 'Frustrated with the lack of action,' Canadian says Thomas Piekutowski, a retired resident of Montreal, says while his awareness for the Palestinian plight goes back decades, he sees Israel's response to the Oct. 7 attack as "disproportionate." Piekutowski said he has participated in demonstrations in Montreal, signed petitions and written letter to elected officials urging the Canadian government to address Israel's attacks on Gaza. "I just feel very frustrated with the lack of action," Piekutowski told CBC News ahead of his trip. He says the latest actions taken by the Canadian government, including placing sanctions on two Israeli cabinet ministers who took part in promoting "extremist settler violence," simply doesn't go far enough to pressure Israel. "I would like that to be so much pressure on [Israel] and that they start to feel the pain of economic sanctions and boycotts that they do decide to open the border." Activists to demand opening of humanitarian corridor Israel controls the Rafah border in Gaza, severely controlling aid access into the enclave. It briefly reopened to Egypt earlier this year but shuttered after the total blockade began in March. In less than two weeks after hearing about the march to Gaza, Piekutowski was preparing to head to Cairo to join the movement alongside other activists from all over the world. "This current situation of starvation and death caused by lack of water, lack of food, lack of medications, it's inhumane, it's totally sickening and it's wrong." WATCH | Thousands of children at risk of severe malnutrition: Warnings of starvation, famine in Gaza from UN and NGOs 22 days ago Duration 2:54 The United Nations says 14,000 children are at risk of severe malnutrition over the next 11 months if critical aid doesn't arrive. Clarification: An earlier version of this video contained incorrect information from the UN regarding the timeline of that estimate. Israel imposed a total blockade of all food or aid supplies reaching Gaza for roughly 11 weeks starting on March 2. which aid groups say has driven the population of more than two million to the brink of famine. Over the past two weeks, Israel has allowed in limited food supplies largely distributed by a new Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. More than 110 people were killed and hundreds of others injured near aid distribution sites by either Israeli fire or unknown gunmen.
