Maghreb volunteers launch Gaza land convoy from Tunisia to break Israeli siege

A large-scale Maghreb land convoy of volunteers is set to depart from Tunisia towards the Gaza Strip on Monday, calling for an end to what organisers describe as Israel's ongoing war of extermination against the Palestinian enclave, and demanding the lifting of the blockade and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The Joint Action Coordination for Palestine in Tunisia announced that the Maghreb Resilience Convoy to Break the Siege on Gaza will depart from Tunis, as well as from the cities of Sousse, Sfax, and Gabes, heading south to Ben Guerdane and then onwards through Libya and Egypt to reach Gaza.

"The convoy will express solidarity with the Palestinian people under siege and deliver humanitarian aid to them," the coordination group said in a statement.

"Participants in the convoy will head to the Ras Jedir crossing on the Tunisian-Libyan border, and travel along the Libyan coastal road to Cairo, then to the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian-Palestinian border, to deliver messages of solidarity and aid to the Palestinians in Gaza."

According to the organisers, the convoy will include trade unionists, political figures, human rights defenders, lawyers, doctors, journalists, and members of youth organisations.

On 31 May, convoy spokesperson Wael Nouar said that thousands of people from Tunisia and other Maghreb countries had joined the initiative.

"The convoy will include delegations from Mauritania, Morocco, and Algeria, and thousands from Tunisia and Libya. We will proceed directly to Cairo, then to Arish in Egypt and Rafah," he told Anadolu Agency. Nouar confirmed that "the convoy has registered the participation of more than 7,000 people of various Maghreb nationalities as of 30 May".

Tunisian organisations have also pledged their support, including the Tunisian General Labour Union (the country’s largest trade union), the Tunisian Journalists’ Syndicate, the National Bar Association, the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, the Tunisian Medical Association, and the Organisation of Young Doctors.

This mobilisation coincides with the approach of the Freedom Flotilla ship Madleen towards the Gaza coast, concluding its journey which began in Italy on 1 June.

The ship is crewed by 12 human rights activists who have expressed concern about the possibility of an Israeli attack or being blocked from completing their mission to break the blockade on Gaza, which has been under siege and suffering from famine and mass killings for more than 20 months.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Israel had decided to prevent the Madleen from approaching or docking at the Gaza coast.

The report noted that "there was initially a willingness to allow the ship to reach Gaza, provided it posed no security threat," but that the decision had later changed "to avoid setting a precedent that could be repeated".

The convoy and flotilla efforts mark a renewed wave of regional and international solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, as humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate in the enclave as Israel intensifies its brutal war.