A Gaza-bound convoy of more than 150 vehicles, launched from Tunisia, is pressing east through Libya despite warnings from Egyptian authorities and a growing wave of arrests and deportations aimed at those attempting to reach the Rafah border crossing.
In the first official response to the Tunisia-led "Somoud" convoy, Egypt's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday imposing sweeping restrictions on foreign solidarity missions seeking access to the sensitive border zone near Gaza.
"Any visits to the volatile border region must be conducted exclusively through official channels, requiring prior approval via requests submitted to Egyptian embassies abroad or directly to the ministry", said the statement released on 11 June.
"Requests or invitations outside the approved regulatory framework will not be considered."
Though the ministry did not mention the convoy by name, the move was widely interpreted as an implicit rejection of the group's attempt to reach Gaza's Rafah.
A group of 1,500 people from North Africa, travelling in cars, vans, and buses, departed from Tunisia last week and passed through Algeria and western Libya. They are calling for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza amid a systematic famine imposed on the besieged coastal enclave by Israel.
However, Egyptian officials and state-aligned media have portrayed the initiative as a 'reckless and uncoordinated stunt' that could endanger national security.
The organisers, however, insist they have no political agenda against Cairo.
"If Egyptian authorities allow us to reach Rafah, we will not use our presence in Egypt to deliver any message against the Egyptian government", the Joint Action Coordination for Palestine said in a statement.
"Our message is directed exclusively at the Zionist enemy that is exterminating and starving our people in Gaza."
Wael Naouar, a leading organiser, said the group submitted an official request for entry on 19 May and met with Egypt's ambassador in Tunis accompanied by "a Tunisian friend of the Egyptian state" ahead of their departure.
While they decided to set off before receiving a final answer, the group insists that Egyptian authorities have been informed of their plans and intentions.
Despite this, Egyptian authorities have begun detaining and deporting activists who arrived in Cairo to join the convoy.
Arrests and deportations in Cairo
Mohamed Ilyas, one of several Tunisians who landed in the Egyptian capital this week, told The New Arab that a fellow Tunisian traveller "was arrested overnight and deported illegally the following morning after admitting he intended to head to Rafah."
He added that border agents had searched phones and questioned arrivals at length. Ilyas managed to get through. Several others did by insisting on taking a touristic visit.
Meanwhile, Egyptian airport authorities barred nearly 40 Algerian nationals from entering the country, detaining them in the airport terminal pending deportation, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed's correspondent in Algeria.
A separate group of Algerian and Moroccan activists who had arrived earlier were also expelled, including three lawyers who were held for more than 13 hours before being placed on a return flight.
"My son and I were denied entry to join the Gaza-bound convoy, so was our comrade Jamila Azzouzi," Hamid Wahid, a Moroccan activist, told TNA.
A video showing deportees chanting on the staircase of a departing flight has since gone viral, with protesters accusing Egypt of complicity in the Gaza blockade.
In Morocco, the National Working Group for Palestine, unable to join the convoy overland due to closed borders with Algeria, had planned to fly in volunteers to Cairo.
However, on 11 June, the group announced that it was cancelling its participation after the Egyptian embassy delayed processing their entry request. The group Warne volunteers against travelling without official approval.
Paris has also come under scrutiny after several of its citizens were detained in Cairo. According to French outlet Blast, some nationals were held without food or water, while others were arrested in police raids on hotels in central Cairo.
The French Embassy in Cairo stated that it had not received any official information about the detentions, despite repeated appeals from the convoy organisers, according to the French outlet.
In Tunis, social media users have begun calling for a protest outside the Egyptian embassy in support of the convoy. But the convoy's organisers have urged restraint, fearing any escalation might jeopardise potential negotiations with Cairo.
Despite everything, the convoy has decided to press on.
Somoud convoy continues to Gaza
On Thursday, it reached Misrata, roughly 200 kilometres east of Tripoli, inching closer to territories controlled by eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Organisers worry that without clear permissions, they may face further administrative roadblocks as they approach Sirte and, eventually, Benghazi.
The convoy is part of a growing grassroots response to Israel's ongoing assault and blockade on Gaza.
It comes just days after Israeli forces illegally intercepted the Freedom Flotilla ship Madleen, which was attempting to deliver aid by sea.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), some 470,000 people in Gaza are facing famine, with the entire population suffering from acute food insecurity.
Local health authorities say Israel has killed over 51,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.
Despite Cairo's growing resistance, organisers hope the convoy will reach the Egyptian capital later today and press ahead towards Rafah.
"We believe in the power of the people, the Libyan and the Egyptian," said convoy spokesperson Jawaher Chenna, urging supporters not to spread hostility towards any authority or population.