Hundreds of people, chiefly Tunisians, launched connected Monday (June 9, 2025) a onshore convoy bound for Gaza, seeking to "break the siege" connected the Palestinian territory, activists said.
Organisers said the nine-bus convoy was not bringing assistance into Gaza, but alternatively aimed astatine carrying retired a "symbolic act" by breaking the blockade connected the territory described by the United Nations arsenic "the hungriest spot connected Earth".
The "Soumoud" convoy, meaning "steadfastness" successful Arabic, includes doctors and aims to get successful Rafah, successful confederate Gaza, "by the extremity of the week", activistic Jawaher Channa told AFP.
It is acceptable to walk done Libya and Egypt, though Cairo has yet to supply transition permits, she added.
"We are astir a 1000 people, and we volition person much articulation america on the way," said Channa, spokeswoman of the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine, the radical organising the caravan.
"Egypt has not yet fixed america support to transverse its borders, but we volition spot what happens erstwhile we get there," she said.
Participants of a Tunisian-led onshore convoy, who purpose to scope Gaza and telephone for an extremity to the struggle successful the region, hold to committee buses, successful Tunis, Tunisia June 9, 2025. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Channa said the convoy was not acceptable to look issues crossing Libya, "whose radical person historically supported the Palestinian cause", contempt caller deadly clashes successful the state that remains divided betwixt 2 governments.
Algerian, Mauretanian, Moroccan and Libyan activists were besides among the group, which is acceptable to question on the Tunisian and Libyan coasts, earlier continuing connected to Rafah done Egypt.
After 21 months of war, Israel is facing mounting planetary unit to let much assistance into Gaza to alleviate wide shortages of nutrient and basal supplies.
On June 1, the Madleen assistance boat, boarded by activists including Swedish clime campaigner Greta Thunberg and European parliament subordinate Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan, acceptable sail for Gaza from Italy.
But connected Monday (June 9, 2025) greeting Israel intercepted it, preventing it from reaching the Palestinian territory.
The UN has warned that the Palestinian territory's full colonisation is astatine hazard of famine.
Published - June 09, 2025 06:39 p.m. IST