{"id":17511,"date":"2025-06-12T19:16:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T17:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=17511"},"modified":"2026-10-08T01:19:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T23:19:04","slug":"cairo-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/cairo-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza Solidarity Convoys Face Detention and Deportation in Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Soumoud\u2014or Steadfastness\u2014land convoy left Tunis on 9 June 2025 as a grassroots North African initiative seeking to challenge the siege of Gaza, intensified during the war that began in October 2023. Organisers put its size at around 20 buses and 350 cars carrying 1,500\u20132,000 activists, principally from Tunisia and Algeria, with participants from Morocco and Mauritania joining later.<\/p>\n

Libyan activists joined along the route, as did dozens of doctors carrying medical equipment and an ambulance in case they were allowed into Gaza.<\/p>\n

The convoy received a warm public welcome at successive stops. After a send-off in Tunis, it crossed into Libya through Ras Jedir on 10 June. Residents in Zawiya and Tripoli greeted participants with Palestinian flags.<\/p>\n

By 12 June, the convoy was reported near Misrata in western Libya, intending to continue through Sirte and Benghazi to Egypt\u2019s Salloum border crossing. Organisers hoped to reach Arish and Rafah on Sunday, 15 June, and stage a peaceful sit-in demanding the opening of the crossing and the admission of aid into Gaza. These were plans; permission to cross Egypt had not been secured.<\/p>\n

A separate international mobilisation, the Global March to Gaza, was bringing participants from numerous countries to Cairo by air. Together, the initiatives reflected the growing international movement against the war, then in its second year with no clear political path to ending it.<\/p>\n

Egyptian supporters also called for a solidarity gathering on the steps of the Journalists\u2019 Syndicate in Cairo on the evening of 12 June under the slogan: \u201cSteadfastness convoys: open the road to Rafah.\u201d Images and videos posted by participants travelling through Libya circulated widely on social media.<\/p>\n

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The land convoy and international march followed other civilian attempts to challenge the siege, including the Madleen\u2019s sea voyage.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Madleen sailed from Catania, Sicily, on 1 June<\/a>. Israeli forces intercepted it in international waters on 9 June and took the vessel and its 12 passengers to Ashdod. Four accepted deportation and were removed on 10 June; the remaining eight were still detained at that stage after refusing the deportation terms.<\/p>\n

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Egypt insists on advance coordination<\/h2>\n

The Soumoud convoy\u2019s intended route raised early questions about Cairo\u2019s response, particularly given security restrictions in North Sinai. On 11 June, Egypt\u2019s Foreign Ministry welcomed international support for Palestinian rights<\/a> but said foreign delegations needed prior permission to visit the border area.<\/p>\n

Applications for Arish and Rafah had to go through Egyptian embassies abroad, foreign embassies in Cairo or organisations coordinating directly with the ministry. The statement cited visitor safety and national security, required valid entry documents and said requests outside the designated procedures would not be considered. It noted that official and rights delegations had previously visited under those arrangements.<\/p>\n

Egyptian security sources said the convoy had not yet obtained permission to enter through Salloum and coordination with Cairo remained incomplete. Entry therefore remained uncertain.<\/p>\n

One security source said agencies were on alert near the Libyan frontier to prevent crossings without legal documentation. Egypt did not reject the convoy in principle, the source said, but wanted full information on people travelling roughly 1,000 kilometres across Egyptian territory to Rafah.<\/p>\n

The same source suggested participants with valid visas could be admitted without confrontation, and did not rule out Egyptian activists or parties joining at Rafah. But any gathering near the crossing would have to remain under security control, the source added, to prevent disorder that Israel might exploit.<\/p>\n

Sources described discussions in Cairo that initially favoured refusal before considering limited admission under conditions, including valid visas and reduced numbers. Their account points to the political dilemma: outright rejection could strengthen accusations that Egypt helps sustain Gaza\u2019s siege, while admitting thousands without a tightly managed plan was viewed by officials as a security risk.<\/p>\n

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Organisers say they used the official channels<\/h2>\n

Convoy organisers countered that they had contacted Egyptian authorities weeks earlier through Egypt\u2019s embassy in Tunis and intermediaries in Cairo. They said a formal letter to the Foreign Ministry set out the initiative\u2019s peaceful, humanitarian purpose.<\/p>\n

Spokesperson Wael Nawar<\/strong> said an application in the name of the Soumoud convoy was submitted to the Egyptian embassy in Tunis on 19 May 2025, several weeks before departure.<\/p>\n

According to Nawar, a delegation led by activist Ghassan Henchiri subsequently met the Egyptian ambassador at the embassy. A Tunisian intermediary with connections to the Egyptian authorities attended. Nawar declined to name the intermediary for safety reasons but said organisers were ready to ask that person to corroborate the meeting if required.<\/p>\n

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Organisers say they followed the procedures Egypt required. The authorities\u2019 statement, meanwhile, made prior approval\u2014not simply the submission of an application\u2014the condition for a border visit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nawar maintained that attempts to question the convoy\u2019s compliance could not justify the treatment participants described. The dispute concerned both whether requests had been properly received and what response organisers were entitled to expect.<\/p>\n

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Detentions and deportations<\/h2>\n

As the land convoy advanced through Libya, Egyptian authorities detained or turned back foreign participants arriving by air for the Global March to Gaza. Organisers described arrivals from around 80 countries in the days preceding the planned march.<\/p>\n

Reuters reported 73 deportations to Istanbul on Thursday, 12 June<\/a>. Organisers also described people held at Cairo airport awaiting removal, and said more than 200 participants had been detained or affected by the campaign. Their accounts included American, Australian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Moroccan and Algerian nationals.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued late on 11 June, organisers said they had spent two months communicating with Egypt\u2019s Foreign Ministry and Egyptian embassies in more than 15 countries. They maintained that participants had met the requirements and called for the immediate release of everyone held.<\/p>\n

Zawia3\u2019s sources reported further removals, including eight people holding both European and North African nationalities who, they said, had valid visas but received no written explanation.<\/p>\n

Sources also described the removal of 140 Algerian participants, including three lawyers known for rights work, more than ten Moroccans returned on arriving flights, and Turkish nationals. These were reported group counts and should not be added to other totals without checking for overlap.<\/p>\n

Some French nationals were released after brief detention, while a Tunisian women\u2019s delegation remained at the airport facing deportation, according to the accounts received by Zawia3.<\/p>\n

In a 12 June statement, the Foundation for the Support of Law and Democracy alleged serious violations against peaceful march participants. It said members of the Dutch delegation were held at the airport, had passports confiscated and were denied water, food and medical care before being removed despite holding valid visas.<\/p>\n

The statement said participants had received no legal explanation and had avoided unlicensed activities. It called on Egypt to end the detentions and deportations and facilitate humanitarian aid, arguing that preventing the convoys helped reinforce Israel\u2019s unlawful blockade of more than two million people.<\/p>\n

Rights lawyer Yasser Saad<\/strong> tells Zawia3 that the gap between the government\u2019s stated procedures and participants\u2019 accounts raises serious questions. He says Soumoud\u2019s steering committee had submitted applications through the specified channels and criticises the absence of clear legal grounds communicated to people detained or removed.<\/p>\n

Saad argues that the peaceful humanitarian purpose of the initiative undermines claims that participants inherently threatened national security. His criticism concerns the legality and transparency of the treatment of individual participants.<\/p>\n

The legal distinction matters: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights does not create an unrestricted right for a foreign national to enter another country. It does provide safeguards against arbitrary detention and procedural protections concerning the expulsion of foreigners lawfully present. The UN Human Rights Committee\u2019s interpretation<\/a> therefore requires attention to each person\u2019s legal position and the procedures used, rather than treating every refusal of entry as automatically unlawful.<\/p>\n

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Who carried out the operation?<\/h2>\n

Participants\u2019 accounts identified police, airport security and passport officers as carrying out detentions. Plainclothes officers visited hotels, questioned activists, searched belongings and, in some cases, took phones. Sources believed some officers belonged to National Security, but the agency\u2019s precise role was not officially confirmed.<\/p>\n

The reported use of lists of names suggested coordination across locations. Neither the Interior Ministry nor security agencies issued a detailed public account of the operation as it unfolded. AFP reported<\/a> that Cairo\u2019s security director had not responded to its request for comment.<\/p>\n

A rights lawyer speaking to Zawia3 interpreted the absence of clarification as a sign of the issue\u2019s sensitivity and suggested that authorities may have relied on high-level instructions not made public. That remains the lawyer\u2019s assessment, not an established account of the command structure.<\/p>\n

Sources said doctors and volunteers arriving from Sweden and Denmark were among those immediately returned on flights without entering Egypt. By contrast, organisers said some Tunisians who arrived individually had been admitted after lengthy questioning. Their personal details were recorded, and they were waiting in Cairo to join others if the land convoy received permission to enter.<\/p>\n

One organiser suggested authorities distinguished between individual arrivals on tourist visas, some of whom were eventually admitted, and organised group arrivals treated as unwelcome delegations. This was the organiser\u2019s interpretation of the differing treatment.<\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s position was that the Palestinian side of Rafah was closed because of conditions on the ground, and that a foreign gathering on the Egyptian side could not reopen it without Israeli agreement. Officials argued that international pressure should instead focus on Israel to allow aid through Gaza\u2019s side of the crossing.<\/p>\n

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Solidarity\u2014and suspicion<\/h2>\n

The North African convoy<\/a> drew support from Tunisian civil and professional organisations, including the Tunisian General Labour Union, the doctors\u2019 order, Tunisian Scouts and the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists. An Algerian initiative supporting Palestine and relief for Gaza, linked to the Association of Algerian Muslim Scholars, also joined.<\/p>\n

Organisers had required registration forms<\/a>, passports valid for at least six months, medical certificates and travel insurance covering at least a month from 9 June.<\/p>\n

Egyptian social media responses were divided. Many activists and rights advocates supported the initiative and wanted to participate. Others portrayed it as a threat to national security or an attempt to push Egypt into a political and military confrontation. Media figures and MPs close to the authorities voiced suspicions about its motives.<\/p>\n

Presenter Ahmed Moussa<\/strong> claimed<\/a> that many participants lacked official entry visas and warned of a trap intended to embarrass Egypt whether it admitted or refused them. Those allegations conflicted with organisers\u2019 insistence that participants had complied with entry requirements.<\/p>\n

MP Mohamed Abdel Aziz<\/strong> argued<\/a> that any disorder in Egyptian Rafah could facilitate the displacement of Palestinians\u2014a policy Egypt opposed\u2014even if an event\u2019s declared aim was to break the siege.<\/p>\n

Presenter and MP Mostafa Bakry<\/strong> rejected criticism of Egypt\u2019s position<\/a>, saying it opposed the siege and displacement. He framed the situation as a dilemma manufactured to discredit Cairo: resisting displacement would expose it to accusations of harming Palestinians, while allowing entry would prompt accusations of helping liquidate the Palestinian cause.<\/p>\n

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Support in central Cairo<\/h2>\n

Egyptian supporters called for the evening gathering at the Journalists\u2019 Syndicate to affirm humanitarian solidarity and oppose restrictions on the international participants.<\/p>\n

Karima El Hefnawy<\/strong>, one of those organising and joining the gathering, tells Zawia3 it continues earlier protests against genocide and the siege. Participants had demonstrated before Eid al-Adha, demanding an end to the war and the admission of aid, and had already planned a second gathering for the Thursday after the holiday.<\/p>\n

She says the international convoys happened to coincide with those plans. Participants contacted by Egyptian supporters said they had submitted formal requests well in advance. Some had received visas in Europe and flown to Cairo, while the land convoy had contacted Egypt\u2019s embassy in Tunis, the Foreign Ministry and the Red Crescent without receiving an official response, according to El Hefnawy.<\/p>\n

She describes the eventual official response as late and effectively shutting the door to the convoy. She says Egyptian national political forces continue to support civilian humanitarian initiatives.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe salute the people of the world who come out of humanitarian motives to support the besieged people of Gaza,\u201d El Hefnawy says. \u201cIt is our duty to raise our voices against this injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Civil Democratic Movement had not announced a separate mobilisation but welcomed efforts by people around the world to break the siege.<\/p>\n

Its spokesperson, Walid El Omari<\/strong>, tells Zawia3 that receiving the delegations and allowing them to reach Rafah presents a security challenge, but Egypt has sufficient experience to organise their movement.<\/p>\n

He calls lifting the siege a humanitarian priority deserving action by governments and citizens alike. While concerned about Israel\u2019s response, he sees the convoys as an opportunity to rebut claims that Egypt itself is preventing aid from entering.<\/p>\n

El Omari argues that allowing the delegations to reach the crossing would demonstrate Egypt\u2019s support for Palestinian rights and its capacity to act responsibly despite the difficulties.<\/p>\n

The Socialist Popular Alliance Party likewise called on the government to admit the convoy, warning that preventing it on weak pretexts would be a serious mistake damaging Egypt\u2019s standing among Arabs and internationally.<\/p>\n

The argument takes place against a wider dispute over responsibility for Rafah. Israeli representatives had previously told the International Court of Justice that Egypt controlled access, a claim rejected by State Information Service chief Diaa Rashwan, who said Egypt had not obstructed aid.<\/p>\n

The Arabic report also records a letter dated 3 June from twenty members of the European Parliament asking President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to allow participants to reach Gaza through Egypt. With the planned march approaching, the question remained whether that international pressure and the organisers\u2019 prior applications would translate into permission to proceed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Soumoud convoy approaches Egypt, international march participants face detention and removal. Organisers insist they followed official channels; Cairo cites border security and prior approval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[390],"tags":[],"kateb":[710],"class_list":["post-17511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-human-rights","kateb-zawia3-com"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/\u0627\u0644\u0642\u0627\u0641\u0644\u0629-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17511"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17512,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17511\/revisions\/17512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17511"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=17511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}