• Over 200 international activists detained as part of the Sumud Convoy, as Egypt blocks the aid convoy backed by global participants from 50+ countries.
• Israel advances plan to “conquer” Gaza while UN warns of famine; Egypt accused of enforcing siege through deportations and repression.
A vast international solidarity movement aiming to reach the Rafah crossing into Gaza has been met with forceful obstruction by Egyptian authorities — just as Israel moves to escalate its military campaign into what critics describe as a full-scale conquest of Gaza, as quoted by Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The Sumud Convoy — a worldwide initiative that began in Tunisia — is carrying humanitarian aid and is organised by the Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine in Tunisia. It has connections to the Global March for Gaza, which involves rights advocates from around 50 countries who were travelling to Cairo.
“This is a civil and popular initiative in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” Wael Naouar, a member of the organising team, told The New Arab. “We refuse to remain silent.”
An activist involved said that even if they are stopped at the border, like the interception of the vessel Madleen earlier this week, “even that will send a message.”
As the convoy attempted to cross into Egypt, over 200 activists from Algeria, Morocco, France, the Netherlands, Australia, and other countries were detained or deported. Activists reported being followed by plainclothes officers, harassed in their hotels, and having their phones confiscated.
The convoy’s mission takes on greater urgency as Israel’s government reportedly advances plans to conquer the entirety of Gaza — a move that would extinguish any remaining hope for Palestinian self-determination in the enclave.
This timely convoy march comes as the humanitarian crisis worsens. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) describes Gaza as “the hungriest place on Earth,” warning that the entire population faces famine due to Israel’s severe restrictions on aid.
Despite this, Egypt enforces the Israeli blockade by shutting the Rafah border crossing. This policy is widely viewed as influenced by Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, under which Egypt receives $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid.
These coordinated efforts by Israel and Egypt starkly expose how geopolitical interests suppress urgent humanitarian action and global protest. Yet the Sumud Convoy remains undeterred.
“The whole point is to ensure that Gaza is not forgotten,” one organiser said. “Governments want it forgotten. We are here to stop that.”
As Israel intensifies military action and Egypt clamps down on dissent, the convoy’s message is clear: If governments will not act, people will.
