Egypt reportedly detains over '200 March to Gaza' activists, deports 3 dozen

Egyptian authorities detained and questioned over 200 people arriving in the capital city of Cairo who planned to participate in the "Global March to Gaza," which bills itself as a peaceful initiative that “aims to end the ongoing blockade and establish a permanent humanitarian corridor into Gaza.” 

A spokesperson for the march, Saif Abukeshek, told AFP, “Over 200 participants were detained at Cairo airport or questioned at hotels across Cairo.” 

Abukeshek reported that groups of plainclothes police officers showed up at several hotels where participants were staying, carrying lists of names. The officers questioned several activists and even confiscated the cell phones of some.

“After interrogations, some were arrested and others were released,” he said. 

One of the founders of the Global March to Gaza is Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian physician and general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI). He is a former member of the Palestinian Authority (PA) unity government and a key figure in the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement. 

The organizers had planned to have participants arrive in Cairo beginning Thursday, and to lead a 50-kilometer (30-mile) walk to the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, June 15.

However, as reported in many Arab news channels early Thursday, Egyptian authorities began disrupting the planned march as soon as activists began arriving Wednesday and Thursday morning. 

According to the Associated Press, over three dozen activists, mostly holding European passports, were deported on Wednesday and Thursday upon arrival at the Cairo International Airport after authorities determined they planned to participate in the march.

The Greek news site Thema reported that 26 individuals arriving in Egypt from Greece were denied entry upon arrival and that local authorities were arranging their return to Greece.

Many Arab news organizations and social media accounts were quick to blame the incident on Israel, especially after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday urged Egypt to block two convoys of pro-Palestinian activists traveling overland in support of the initiative. The Egyptian government, however, has long maintained a strict policy regulating who may approach the Gaza border, even prior to the war.

“I expect the Egyptian authorities to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border and not to allow them to carry out provocations or attempt to enter Gaza,” Katz said in a statement on Wednesday evening. 

Egypt has refused to open its border with Gaza with few exceptions since the beginning of the war in October 2023. Even earlier in the war, when Egypt cooperated with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, it transported the aid through Israel rather than using its own border crossing.

Egypt has also tightly restricted access to the Sinai Peninsula for several years before the Gaza War, due to an ongoing conflict with ISIS-affiliated groups in the area. Since the war's outbreak, the peninsula has remained a designated security zone under strict control.

The Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network reported that several Moroccan participants were also deported by Egyptian authorities and flown back to Casablanca’s Mohammed V Airport.

Organizers of the Global March to Gaza claimed that around 4,000 people had booked flights to Cairo in order to participate in the initiative. 

A convoy from Tunisia, traveling overland in an attempt to join the march, has reportedly not yet reached Egypt. It remains unclear whether Egyptian authorities will permit the convoy to enter.

This photo is not from Gaza, and this is not a Hamas militant... It is from the Maghreb March to Gaza that started two days ago and is now in Libya heading towards Egypt.

Which begs the question: Is it a convoy to show solidarity with the Gazans or to show solidarity with the… https://t.co/67wI6UGIQl pic.twitter.com/mNc4VC6y1t

— Dalia Ziada - داليا زيادة (@daliaziada) June 10, 2025

While the Egyptian government has expressed support for applying political pressure on Israel regarding the situation in Gaza, authorities have also stressed that any delegation wishing to visit the Gaza border must obtain prior authorization through official government channels. 

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statemen, “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.”