Following Greta's Gaza convoy, Tunisia's football Ultras join attempt to break Israel's siege

In Tunisia, where football stadiums long doubled as political spaces, with chants for Palestine and jeers against the government, the country's ultras are now throwing their weight behind a grassroots convoy aiming to break Israel's siege on Gaza.

Last week, the Bad Blue Boys Juniors, an ultras group supporting Espérance Sportive de Tunis (ES Tunis), one of Tunisia's premier football clubs, shared a statement urging fans to join the "Somoud convoy." Organised by the Coordination for Joint Action for Palestine, the convoy is set to depart Tunisia on 9 June, passing through Libya and Egypt in a high-stakes attempt to reach Gaza.

"We urge all sports fans, especially ultras groups, and anyone whose heart still beats with a conscience to join this initiative and work for its success", the group wrote on 29 May.

"Don't just be spectators. Be part of the action. Be witnesses to the truth and ambassadors of dignity. Gaza doesn't need pity, it needs real positions."

On the same day, Leaders Clubistes, a group affiliated with the ultras of Club Africain (CA), joined the call, encouraging supporters to participate in the convoy in line with the fan culture that has long viewed solidarity with Palestine as a moral compass.

"When the world falls silent, the crowds must scream… and when rulers betray, the people remain an unbreakable weapon," they wrote, calling on supporters to register as volunteers.

The chant, "Take us to Palestine, to fight the Zionists," is believed to have originated among Tunisian ultras, before spreading across pro-Palestine demonstrations throughout the Maghreb.

Support has also come from Libya. Ultras Teha Boys, a prominent supporter group of Tripoli-based Al-Ahly football club, joined the call in a joint statement with Club Africain's ultras.

The Coordination for Joint Action for Palestine said it has so far received more than 7,000 applications, which will be screened based on age, health, and logistical capacity.

Tunisia's largest unions, representing workers, farmers, doctors, and ultras, have all declared support for the initiative, titled "The Shackle Must Be Broken," a slogan that echoes the chants of the country's 2011 revolution.

Wael Naouar, a pro-Palestine activist and one of the convoy's spokespeople, said the group is fully aware of the risks but refuses to be deterred. "We don't believe in the impossible," he said.

Although logistical coordination with authorities in Libya and Egypt is still ongoing, organisers moved the departure date forward to 9 June, six days earlier than planned, to join international efforts of the Freedom Flotilla, which is also en route to Gaza.

On Sunday afternoon, climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, French-Palestinian activist Rima Hassan, and ten others set sail aboard the Madleen, a boat operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, embarking on a seven-day journey to Gaza. Both the Tunisian convoy and the Flotilla group have expressed concern over possible Israeli targeting before reaching the strip.

Those fears were heightened in early May when the Flotilla's Conscience vessel was attacked by two Israeli drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta.

"The only way to guarantee the success of this mission, and our security, is through civil mobilisation, sharing, and talking about our initiative," said Rima Hassan, before boarding the ship. The Tunisian group has echoed similar calls ahead of its departure.

After nearly three months of total blockade, Israel allowed, under mounting pressure from Western governments and humanitarian organisations, limited aid into Gaza and partially resumed the United Nations's operations. At the same time, it pushed for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a shadowy, US-backed private aid distributor, to take the lead in delivering food to the enclave.

However, aid remains insufficient. The UN has warned that Gaza is now "the hungriest place on Earth," with the entire population at risk of famine. Palestinians, it says, are being shot at, starved, and forced from their homes.