Latest news with #GlobalMarchtoGaza
Scoop
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
New Zealanders Leave Today To Join Global March To Gaza
Two of the New Zealanders going on the Global March to Gaza are leaving from Christchurch today. They are Will Alexander and his partner Ava Mulla. Will had a high profile a year ago for his hunger strike for Gaza and will be the principle contact for the media and for the Palestine solidarity movement here during the march. Western governments, New Zealand included, have failed to act to stop the genocide in Gaza and have become complicit with the US/Israel in the most massive war crimes of the 21st century. The march is a civil society action aiming to stop the genocide and bring overwhelming pressure to end Israel's starvation of the people of Gaza.
Morocco World
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Thousands Prepare for Peaceful Global March to Gaza on June 15
Rabat – Activists, health workers, and everyday citizens from around the world are preparing for a massive peaceful march to the Rafah border crossing in Egypt on June 15. Their goal is to demand urgent humanitarian access to Gaza, where aid has been blocked for over three months. Called the Global March to Gaza, the movement brings together people from more than 35 countries. Delegations will begin gathering in Cairo on June 12, before traveling to the town of al-Arish in northern Sinai. From there, they will march to Rafah, just across the border from Gaza. The organizers say the action is completely peaceful, civilian-led, and non-political. It is supported by over 150 NGOs, doctors, lawyers, and volunteers. Participants include people of all ages and backgrounds, from youth to elders. 'You are not forgotten. We are coming. From all over the world, we walk for you,' say the organizers. The marchers have five key demands: An immediate ceasefire, the opening of the Gaza borders permanently, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, full reconstruction of Gaza, and an end to Israeli colonization of the West Bank. According to Huseyin Durmaz, a Turkish physician involved in the campaign, the march is a direct response to the serious health and humanitarian crisis in Gaza due to Israel's relentless genocide. He criticized international organizations for failing to ensure the delivery of life-saving aid. 'This time we will march to the Rafah border crossing to remind international institutions of their duties and to put pressure on them so that the situation in Gaza can end and be opened to humanitarian aid,' Durmaz said. The march is set to unfold over several days, with participants arriving in Cairo and traveling to al-Arish on June 12. The following day, the march to Rafah would begin, with rallies and a major protest at the border on June 14 and 15. June 15 will be the main day of global action and media coverage, with peaceful tent protests continuing near Rafah on June 16 and 20. The organizers have reached out to Egyptian authorities to request formal permission, but it is unclear if they have received a response. Despite that, they emphasize that they do not plan to force the border, as some rumors have claimed. 'Contrary to rumors, the organizers clearly reject any idea of 'forcing the border.' The march is explicitly non-violent and aims to pressure governments via international visibility,' organizers said. North African solidarity in focus Tunisia and Algeria in particular have voiced that they are deploying large delegations and caravans to traverse North Africa to arrive in Cairo. The Tunisian caravan has already left with the Algerian participants in tow, and a Moroccan delegation has also voiced their support. Participants are gathering and talking on Telegram channels to organize everything from passports, visas to accommodation for this global mass gathering of solidarity. Since March 2, all border crossings into Gaza have been completely shut, blocking the delivery of food, water, and medicine. Aid agencies say this has created a famine and worsened the suffering of civilians, especially children and the elderly. Though Israel has recently allowed limited aid to enter Gaza, it is nowhere near enough to cover the needs of the population. Tags: GazaIsraelpalestine aid
Libya Observer
a day ago
- Politics
- Libya Observer
Convoy to Gaza departs Tunisia in bid to break blockade
A humanitarian convoy aimed at breaking the blockade on Gaza has begun its journey from several Tunisian cities, organisers say. The initiative, launched on Monday, is expected to travel across Libya and Egypt before reaching the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip. Organised by the Joint Coordination for Palestine, the convoy includes representatives from civil society groups, trade unions, political parties, medical associations, and youth organisations. Its route will take it from Tunis, Sousse, Sfax and Gabès to the southern city of Ben Gardane, near the Libyan border. The convoy will then proceed along the Libyan coastline before heading to Cairo and onwards to Rafah on the Egyptian-Palestinian border. Organisers say the mission is intended to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and to deliver humanitarian aid. The effort has received backing from major Tunisian institutions, including the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, the Tunisian Bar Association, the Tunisian Human Rights League, the Doctors' Union, and the Young Doctors' Organisation. Initially scheduled to depart on 14 June, the launch was moved forward to 9 June to align with the arrival of international delegations in the region. Separately, a coalition of more than 32 international unions and rights organisations recently announced a 'Global March to Gaza' to highlight what it called the dire humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians. The marchers plan to enter Gaza on foot.
Middle East Eye
5 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
What activists hope to achieve with the 'Global March to Gaza'
Activists around the world say they have had enough. With more than 54,000 Palestinians killed, thousands more buried under rubble and unaccounted for, tens of thousands of others injured, maimed, and orphaned, and with close to the entire population of the besieged strip being starved, activists say it's time to take matters into their own hands. Even if it means knocking on the gates around Gaza. On 12 June, between 2,000 and 3,000 activists from close to 50 countries worldwide are expected to descend on Cairo to pressure the international community to force Israel to end the bombardment and siege of Gaza, which human rights groups and scholars have unanimously called a genocide. The Global March on Gaza, as it has come to be known, will see activists make their way to the city of al-Arish in the Sinai and embark on a march to the border with Gaza, where they will camp for three days to urge authorities to allow aid to be let in. Who are the activists travelling to Egypt to participate in the march? Why do they feel so strongly about making the journey to Egypt from all around the world? And what are the prospects of success? Middle East Eye looks at the Global March on Gaza and why so many groups around the world are backing the initiative. What is the Global March to Gaza? The Global March to Gaza is made up of a conglomeration of organisations from around the world and describes itself as a "civic, apolitical, and independent movement". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Organisations that endorsed the march, include the international organisations the International Healthworkers Alliance for Justice; Masafer Yatta Solidarity Alliance from Palestine; Palestinian Youth movement; Codepink Women for Peace in the US; Jewish Voice for Labour in the UK; The Million Rural Women and the Landless Association in Tunisia; India Palestine Solidarity Forum; as well as the Irish Anti-War Movement, among others. The group says that it does not represent any political party, ideology or religion and that its only guiding principles are "justice, human dignity, and peace". More than 400 groups around the world have endorsed the march, with organisers expecting more to enrol in the coming days. Saif AbuKeshek, chair of the international committee of the Global March to Gaza, said the motivation for the march was born out of an idea to have likeminded people gather outside Gaza to send a message to governments around the world that its citizens were no longer able to tolerate its silence as a people continued to be annihilated. "Citizens are not okay with them just being silenced [or the] silence toward the genocide," AbuKeshek said. AbuKeshek added that citizens were growing increasingly agitated with governments making excuses for their inaction or defending the long litany of well-documented crimes Israel has committed against Palestinians. "That's where our pressure is going: for the international complicity in the genocide," he added. Displaced Palestinians carrying bags of relief supplies return from aid distribution centres in Rafah to their tents in the southern Gaza Strip, on 29 May 2025 (AFP) What are organisers hoping to achieve? For more than 11 weeks between early March and the end of May, Israel blocked all aid into Gaza, including food, medicines and fuel, which pushed Gaza to the verge of famine, with some areas already crossing the threshold of famine itself. Currently, one in five Palestinians in Gaza is living in a state of famine. The food shortage has already resulted in the death of 57 children since March; 71,000 children under the age of five will be acutely malnourished over the next eleven months. The devastation has wreaked unquantifiable harm on those already injured or struggling with chronic illnesses. A cascade of emaciated Palestinian children and dismembered bodies continues to flood social media as Israel continues to bombard the territory. Organisers say the mobilisation of thousands of citizens from around the world is an attempt to exert pressure on governments with the power to force Israel to put an immediate stop to the crisis and to persuade the international community to open up the Egyptian border with Gaza. Organisers say the pressure notwithstanding, there will be no forceful breach of the fences surrounding Gaza. They say Israel is only likely to be moved if countries cut off economic or diplomatic ties. This is what they are hoping to communicate to the countries represented by the several thousand citizens who make their way to the march, they said. "What we hope is basically to have this global effort from people, citizens, activists, people who are in the health sector, people who are lawyers and in legal framework organisations, unions - anyone who basically believes that there should be a collective effort and act to stop genocide and stop the bombings of Gaza," AbuKeshek added. Has Israel manufactured a famine in Gaza? Read More » Crucially, they hope the march will allow people around the world to recognise the call for the end to the war on Gaza as a collective will of the planet. "It is essential that everyone participating goes back to demand their governments and corporations implement arms, trade, energy embargos, sports, cultural and academic boycotts to hit the genocidal state of Israel economically and strike at the heart of their white supremacist Zionist ideology," Roshan Dadoo, spokesperson with the South African Boycott Divestment and Sanction Coalition, one of the several hundred organisations that have endorsed the march, told MEE. Is the march an effective use of resources? With so many needs in Gaza, there have been some concerns over whether a march to Gaza, involving international flights, accommodation and equipment, is an effective use of resources. AbuKeshek told MEE it was important to recognise that the crisis in Gaza was not due to a shortage of aid, but was due to the wilful effort of the Israeli government to destroy a population through continual bombardment of homes, hospitals and refugee sites, as well as the through the denial of urgent and necessary aid into Gaza. He noted that over the past several days, Israel has even attacked several aid distribution points, killing more than 100 Palestinians in the past week alone. "Having aid is part of fulfilling the needs of the civilians in Gaza. But stopping the genocide and having all the Israeli occupation forces leaving Gaza and opening borders to allow for those trucks to enter without it being used by Israel as a weapon or blackmail against a civilian population is what is needed," AbuKeshek said. "There are more than 3,000 trucks just waiting on the street," he added. Likewise, Hannah Claire Smith, an activist and content creator from the United States who is taking part in the march, said that it didn't have to be a question of sending aid or supporting the march. "I'll also say that a lot of participants who are joining in this march are hoping to connect with Palestinian families in Cairo or the organisations that take care of displaced Palestinians in Cairo, and donate and organise to donate to things as well. So this is not necessarily an either or situation," Smith said. Smith said that this was a crucial moment to mobilise as conditions deteriorate. "So this is a way for us to escalate. It's a way for us to approach action in a new way and hopefully be taken seriously by the governments that remain complicit or silent in this genocide," Smith added. Who is participating, and where will it take place? According to organisers, around 2,000-3,000 people from 50 countries around the world are expected to make their way to Egypt. Ana Rita, an activist from Portugal, told MEE that she was participating in the march because it felt like time was running out - not just for the people of Gaza, but for the world. "It looks like we are living this parallel reality where suddenly the whole world turns upside down. Where is our humanity? How can we continue living our normal lives, seeing a genocide happening in front of us and not doing anything?" Rita asked rhetorically. Likewise, Smith said she decided to participate because she wanted her government, as well as other western governments and all governments complicit or participating in the ongoing subjugation of Palestinians, to force Israel to end the calamity unfolding in Gaza. Dadoo, from South Africa, said the march "signified how the majority of people in the world stand with Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation from settler colonialism, apartheid and illegal occupation from the river to the sea". Participants will arrive in Cairo before taking a bus to al-Arish, a city around 344 kilometres away in the Sinai. The march itself will begin in al-Arish, and participants will make the journey of 48km towards Rafah over two to three days, travelling during the cooler hours of the day and sleeping in tents at night. The tents will be left as part of the aid package for the people of Gaza. The group is expected to camp for three days before returning by bus to Cairo on 19 June. Has Egypt given permission for the march? For the past few weeks, as word began to spread of an imminent march to Gaza, several delegations reportedly met with Egyptian embassy officials around the globe to discuss plans for a march. As of the first week of June, the Egyptian government has neither provided explicit permission for the march to go ahead, nor has it signalled its opposition. Some of the volunteers arriving in Egypt for the protest said that they were hoping to use their privilege as passport holders from western countries to draw attention to the cause. "It's not going to be feasible for Egyptians necessarily to join this, or for Palestinians in Egypt to join this, or for Palestinians that don't have another nationality to join this movement," Smith said. "But for those of us who have passport privilege, for those of us who can use that as a way to gain attention into this horrific situation and into these war crimes and these atrocities, then I want to leverage that to the best of my abilities, and so that's another reason that I'm joining," Smith said. What is likely to happen? That the march will result in Israel being pressured to end the siege and bombardment is unlikely. Activists understand the journey itself is perilous, given the potential for Israeli interference as well as the unpredictability of the Egyptian forces. Will the march prove to be a success or not? Organisers say they don't know until they try. "We are all going to be accountable for what is happening today in Gaza. We all are going to be asked the question, 'What have you done? What have you done in your lifetime? What have you done while genocide was running in front of your eyes?'" AbuKeshek said. "Gaza is the last stand of humanity today. There is nothing going to be left of us if we are going to just continue to be silent. "Palestinians have been fighting and struggling to defend our values and principles that societies as civilisations were built on - while we are betraying those by allowing genocide to be committed in front of our eyes - we are going to defend our own dignity."
Al-Ahram Weekly
6 days ago
- General
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Marching to Gaza: A convergence of conscience by land and sea - War on Gaza
Activists, doctors, students, artists, and unionists from across South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa are gathering for the Global March to Gaza. Their destination is the Rafah crossing—the last viable access point between Gaza and the outside world. Their mission is urgent. Since Israel imposed a total blockade on 2 March, Gaza has plunged deeper into a humanitarian crisis. Acute shortages of food, water, and medical supplies have become widespread. Humanitarian agencies report that over 90 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million residents face severe food insecurity. Health systems have collapsed, and the death toll since Israel's war began in October 2023 has surpassed 54,000. Even at US-Israeli-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution points—critical sites for aid—Israeli forces have reportedly targeted civilians. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that in just eight days, 102 people were killed and 490 were injured while attempting to access food and supplies. Coordinated deliveries in northern Gaza and Rafah have met lethal resistance: drones, artillery, and sniper fire have targeted civilians queuing for basic essentials. "We are living through a historic moment. What's happening in Gaza is a test of our humanity," said Saif Abukeshek, Palestinian activist and head of the International Coalition Against the Israeli Occupation, which is organising the Global March to Gaza. "Either we stand up for the values we claim to hold or we lose them, perhaps forever." The march, supported by more than 150 NGOs and participants from 36 countries, will occur between 12 and 20 June. Protesters will gather in Cairo, travel through Sinai to Al-Arish, and attempt to reach the Rafah crossing on foot. Support for the initiative spans continents. Rights organisations from Toronto, Berlin, and Melbourne have pledged backing, alongside public figures including Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis, Irish Nobel Peace Laureate Mairéad Corrigan-Maguire, comedian Jonathan Randall, author and TV host Marianela Pereyra, and blogger Candice King. The organising committee mirrors this diversity: Spanish-Canadian activist Manuel Tapial, French physician Dr Catherine Le Scolan-Quéré, Mexican professor Patricia Luevano, Swiss doctor Regula Grabherr-Fawzi, Portuguese advocate Ana Rita, and South African MP Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela. Their demands are clear: an end to Israel's use of starvation as a war tactic, lifting the 17-year blockade, reopening the Rafah crossing, delivering essential aid, and establishing a sustained humanitarian corridor. They also seek accountability for violations of international law. "I fear the day my child asks, 'What did you do when you saw the genocide?'" Abukeshek added. The march's main demonstration is scheduled for 15 June. Participants will stay near the crossing until 20 June, hosting rallies, vigils, and press briefings. "Over 2,000 people have already committed to join us by air, despite every logistical challenge. And the numbers will grow," Abukeshek confirmed. Dr Huseyin Durmaz of the International Health Initiative noted, "We have made the necessary explanations to the Egyptian authorities. We await permission for this peaceful civil action." Formal approval is still pending. Parallel movements by land and sea The Global March is part of a broader mobilisation. In Tunisia, the "Somoud" convoy, backed by football ultras, unions, students, and healthcare workers, has drawn over 7,000 applicants for its 9 June departure. "I believe the siege can be broken. If this march isn't enough, we march again—and again—until we break through," said Abukeshek. Another front is opening at sea. On 1 June, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) ship Madleen departed Catania, Sicily, with 12 activists and a cargo of humanitarian aid: flour, baby formula, medical supplies, prosthetics, water purification kits, and sanitary products. Environmentalists and human rights defenders are on board, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan. Other passengers include Yasemin Acar (Germany), Baptiste Andre (France), Thiago Ávila (Brazil), Omar Faiad (France), Pascal Mauriéras (France), Yanis Mhamdi (France), Suayb Ordu (Türkiye), Sergio Toribio (Spain), Marco van Rennes (Netherlands), and Reva Viard (France). "Our mission is peaceful. We are unarmed. Everyone on board is trained in nonviolence," the FFC stated. But the risk is real. On 2 May, the FFC vessel Conscience was attacked by Israeli drones in international waters off Malta. The ship's engine was set ablaze. A decade earlier, Israeli forces raided the FFC's Mavi Marmara, killing 10 activists. The Israeli military has signalled its readiness to block the Madleen, stating it is "prepared for a range of scenarios" as the vessel nears Gaza. The naval blockade has been in place since 2007 and remains strictly enforced. Israeli Army Radio quoted military officials reaffirming their position: "We enforce the maritime security blockade on Gaza and are prepared for a range of scenarios." Amid mounting global scrutiny, UN human rights experts have urged Israel not to interfere, citing international law: vessels in international waters must not be obstructed, and Palestinians have a right to receive aid through their territorial waters. "Aid is desperately needed to forestall annihilation, and this initiative is a symbolic and powerful effort to deliver it," the experts said in a joint statement. On 4 June, an Israeli-made Heron drone operated by the Greek Coastguard was seen monitoring the Madleen during its 2,000-kilometre voyage, expected to arrive near Gaza by 7 June, pending safe passage. Though differing in form, the land and sea efforts share one goal: to challenge the siege on Gaza and prompt international action. "No matter the odds, we must keep trying. Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity," said Greta Thunberg before boarding the ship. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
