Egypt blocks activists aiming to march to Gaza to draw attention to humanitarian crisis

RABAT, Morocco (AP) - Egypt blocked activists planning to take part in a march to Gaza, halting their attempt to reach the border and challenge Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory before it could begin.

To draw attention to the humanitarian crisis afflicting people in Gaza, marchers have for months planned to trek 30 miles (48 kilometers) across the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt’s border with the enclave on Sunday to "create international moral and media pressure" to open the crossing at Rafah and lift a blockade that has prevented aid from entering.

Authorities have deported more than three dozen activists, mostly carrying European passports, upon their arrival at the Cairo International Airport in the past two days, an Egyptian official said Thursday. The official said the activists aimed to travel to Northern Sinai "without obtaining required authorizations." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief the media.

Egypt has publicly denounced the restrictions on aid entering Gaza and repeatedly called for an end to the war. It has said that the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing remains open, but access to the strip has been blocked since Israel seized the Palestinian side of the border as part of its war with Hamas that began in October 2023.

Food security experts warn the Gaza Strip will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn't lift its blockade and stop its military campaign. Nearly half a million Palestinians are facing possible starvation, and 1 million others can barely get enough food, according to findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority.

Israel has rejected the findings, saying the IPC's previous forecasts had proven unfounded.

The Egyptian government has for years clamped down on dissidents and activists when their criticism touches on Cairo's political and economic ties with Israel, a sensitive issue in neighboring countries where governments maintain diplomatic relations with Israel despite broad public sympathy for Palestinians.

Egypt had earlier warned that only those who received authorization would be allowed to travel the planned march route, acknowledging it had received "numerous requests and inquiries."

"Egypt holds the right to take all necessary measures to preserve its national security, including the regulation of the entry and movement of individuals within its territory, especially in sensitive border areas," its foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Israel Katz, Israel's defense minister, yesterday referred to the protestors as "jihadists" and called on Egypt to prevent them from reaching the border with Gaza. He said they "endanger the Egyptian regime and constitute a threat to all moderate Arab regimes in the region."

The march is set to begin just days after a large convoy, which organizers said included thousands of activists, traveled overland across North Africa to Egypt.

Activists and attorneys said airport detentions and deportations began Wednesday with no explicit reason given by Egyptian authorities.

Algerian attorney Fatima Rouibi wrote on Facebook that Algerians, including three lawyers, were detained at the airport on Wednesday before being released and ultimately deported back to Algiers on Thursday. Bilal Nieh, a Tunisian activist who lives in Germany, said he was deported along with seven others from northern Africa who also hold European passports.

He wrote on Facebook early Thursday that authorities "didn't give any reason or document stating the reason for deportation."

Governments of countries whose citizens were reportedly detained or deported, including France, had not issued any public comment on the activists as of Thursday morning.

Organizers said in a statement that they had received reports that at least 170 participants had been delayed or detained in Cairo. They said they had followed the protocols laid out by Egyptian authorities, met with them and urged them to let march participants into the country.

“We look forward to providing any additional information the Egyptian authorities require to ensure the march continues peacefully as planned to the Rafah border,” they said in a statement.

The Global March to Gaza is the latest civil society effort pressing for the entry of food, fuel, medical supplies, and other aid into Gaza. Israel imposed a total blockade in March in an attempt to pressure Hamas to disarm and to release hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.

It slightly eased restrictions last month, allowing limited aid in, but experts warn the measures fall far short.

Israel's offensive has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians or combatants.

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Natalie Melzer contributed reporting from Nahariya, Israel.