Soumoud convoy blocked in Libya en route to break Gaza blockade
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The Soumoud convoy, aiming to break the Gaza blockade, was forced to retreat to Misrata after being blocked by eastern Libyan authorities.
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A convoy carrying hundreds of activists to the Gaza Strip to challenge the Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid on the territory stops in Sirte, eastern Libya, Sunday, June 15, 2025 (AP)
Pro-Palestinian activists, who were participating in a march aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza, were forced to retreat to the Misrata region of western Libya after being blocked by the authorities in the country's east, according to statements made by organizers on Sunday.
The "Soumoud" convoy, which had been stopped by the eastern authorities, decided to fall back to near Misrata, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Tripoli. Misrata, which is under the control of the UN-recognized Government of National Unity based in Tripoli, stands in contrast to the eastern region of Libya, where military commander Khalifa Haftar holds authority.
The convoy, consisting of more than 1,000 people from Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia, had faced a "military blockade" since Friday at the entrance to Sirte, a region under the control of Haftar.
Organizers reported that the convoy had been placed under what they described as a "systematic siege," leaving them without access to food, water, or medicine while also facing severely disrupted communications.
The organizers also condemned the arrest of multiple convoy participants, among them at least three bloggers who had been recording the mission's progress since it set out from Tunisia on June 9.
The Joint Action Coordination Committee for Palestine, the organizing body behind the convoy, called for the urgent release of 13 detained participants still in the custody of eastern Libyan authorities, according to a statement reported by Tunisia's La Presse newspaper.
The group, in an accompanying video, reiterated its commitment to pushing forward with the mission toward Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt, emphasizing its goal of breaking the blockade and stopping what it described as the genocide of Palestinians resisting in Gaza.
Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz called on Egyptian authorities on June 11 to prevent the Soumoud convoy from reaching the Rafah border crossing, accusing the international pro-Palestine activists of being "jihadists" and warning that their presence could potentially endanger Israeli occupation forces as well as what he referred to as "regional stability."
Katz argued that the convoy posed a threat to Israeli troops stationed near the border while also warning it could trigger unrest within Egypt and among what he described as "moderate" Arab governments in the region. He further warned that if Egyptian authorities failed to act, the Israeli occupation forces would take what they deemed "necessary measures" to stop the convoy's advance toward Gaza.
