'Soumoud Convoy,' part of Global March, on its way to Gaza in 'symbolic act'

The "Maghreb Resilience Convoy," also known as Sumoud – Arabic for resilience or steadfastness – departed from Tunisia on Monday with the stated aim of "breaking the siege" and reaching Gaza’s Rafah border crossing by land.

“Thousands of volunteers from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia left the Tunisian capital in a 100-vehicle convoy to raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and deliver life-saving aid,” according to organizers quoted by Middle East Eye.

“The convoy will express solidarity with the Palestinian people under siege and deliver humanitarian aid to them,” the coordination group organizing the event 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,” it added.

According to France 24, the convoy consists of nine buses from Tunisia, with more potentially joining along the way. Unlike Middle East Eye, France 24 reported that the convoy is not focused on delivering aid but on “carrying out a symbolic act by breaking the blockade on the territory.” The outlet also noted that the convoy plans to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Egypt has yet to issue passage permits.

“We are about a thousand people, and we will have more join us along the way,” said activist Jawaher Channa, spokeswoman of the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine.

“Egypt has not yet given us permission to cross its borders, but we will see what happens when we get there,” she said.

The convoy is part of the Global March to Gaza, an initiative that seems to be led by by Saif Abukeshek and Melanie Schweizer, a German lawyer and anti-Israeli activist.

“Thank you…for spreading the news about the Global March to Gaza. We are heading to Egypt and we will not rest until this crime against humanity committed by Israel and its allies is put to an end,” Schweizer posted on 𝕏 on Tuesday.

Drop Site News, an account on 𝕏, posted video of the two activists and the following text:

“Global March to Gaza campaign’s lead organizers Saif Abukeshek and Melanie Schweizer told Drop Site the campaign was launched after Gaza’s Independent Workers Committees issued a formal appeal for solidarity action at the Rafah border.” the post said, adding a quote by Abukeshek:

“We opened the call for people to participate – and now we have over 54 countries represented,” he said. According to Drop Point, “He also described close coordination with the Freedom Flotilla and Sumoud Convoy, calling the collaboration ‘essential’ to building a truly global response.”

The Global March will culminate on June 15, when activists from reportedly 50 countries plan to march from Al Arish in Egypt to Rafah, Gaza. 

The Global March organizers are reportedly “planning a short stay in Rafah, from June 15-19,” but “this will depend on authorizations from the Egyptian government.”

“We aim to negotiate the opening of the Rafah terminal with the Egyptian authorities, in collaboration with NGOs, diplomats, and humanitarian institutions,” they said.

The convoy comes after activist Greta Thunberg and 11 others sailed to Gaza to “break the siege” this week, an action reportedly organized by Zaher Birawi, an alleged Hamas operative based in London and who was designated a terrorist by Israel over a decade ago. Their ship was intercepted by the IDF, which deported Greta back to Europe almost immediately.