Egypt deports activists joining Soumoud Convoy en route to Gaza
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Egyptian authorities detained and deported foreign activists en route to the Global March to Gaza, amid new travel restrictions and checkpoints near the Rafah border crossing.
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People cheer as a convoy of buses made up of activists, lawyers and medical professionals from North Africa depart from Tunisia to Gaza to break Israel's blockade on the territory, in Gabes, Tunisia, Monday, June 9, 2025 (AP)
Egyptian authorities detained or deported foreign nationals attempting to join a pro-Palestinian march toward Gaza, as hundreds of international activists arrived this week for the Global March to Gaza, a peaceful initiative aimed at pressuring "Israel" to end its blockade of the enclave.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry stated that visits to the Rafah border area require prior coordination with Egyptian embassies or government authorities, emphasizing the importance of adhering to official protocols to maintain safety and security.
The organizers claim they had prior coordination with Egyptian authorities and are now calling on the government to release the detained participants; however, organizers reported that groups of foreign participants were being held at checkpoints and that sit-ins had started at two locations along the road to the Rafah crossing.
Organizers reported that foreign participants were being detained at security checkpoints while protests had erupted at two separate points along the access route to the Rafah border crossing.
According to organizers, police were halting vehicles approximately 30 km (20 miles) from Ismailia near the Sinai Peninsula along the route to Rafah, located nearly 300 km away, and requiring passengers carrying non-Egyptian passports to exit the vehicles.
Security sources cited by Reuters verified that a minimum of 88 people had either been taken into custody or expelled, with these operations occurring both at Cairo International Airport and various other sites across the country.
Airport authorities at Cairo International Airport confirmed the implementation of new regulations mandating that all inbound passengers arriving in Egypt between June 12 and 16 must present verified return flight tickets as part of updated travel requirements.
According to three airport sources who spoke to Reuters on Thursday, Egyptian authorities had already deported a minimum of 73 foreign nationals on an Istanbul-bound flight for allegedly breaching entry regulations, while approximately 100 additional individuals remained detained at the airport pending their own deportation proceedings.
'Israel' orders its army to block Soumoud Convoy from reaching Gaza
Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz has directed the Israeli army to stop a convoy of pro-Palestinian activists attempting to enter the blockaded Gaza Strip, painting them as "foreign jihadists," anticipating that Egyptian authorities will block them from approaching the Egyptian-occupied Palestinian border, and prevent any attempts to enter Gaza.
He further claimed that the demonstrators endanger Egypt and threaten all 'moderate Arab countries' in the region.
The Israeli minister also claimed that the group holds "antisemitic" views aligned with Hamas and seeks to spread radical Islamic ideology throughout the region, allegedly backed by what he referred to as the "Iranian axis of evil."
The convoy set out on its trip shortly after the Madleen ship, which was sailing to Gaza to deliver essential humanitarian aid to hungry Palestinians in the Strip, was intercepted by Israeli occupation forces and its crew detained.
