Young Tunisians run in front of the buses carrying pro-Palestinian participants as they, along with around one and a half thousand others in the Resilience Convoy, depart from Tunis, Tunisia, on June 9, 2025.
As Palestinians continue to suffer at the hands of Israel's genocidal war against Gaza, civilians from around the world are taking matters into their own hands. In North Africa, the Al-Soumoud Convoy (Arabic for "steadfast resistance") aims to travel from Algeria through Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt to Rafah to deliver aid.
Buses and private cars full of hopeful adults of all ages left Tunis on Monday, June 9, expecting to arrive at the Egyptian border with Gaza after June 12, picking up volunteers along the way. Their courage is admirable, and many around the world are relieved that, finally, someone is taking action.
"At best, we hope the Al-Soumoud convoy helps the global effort to reopen the Rafah crossing to aid and amplify the call to break the siege and end the genocide. It's about breaking the complicity of governments, including pro-Zionist Arab regimes, but also the silence of international institutions," Algerian researcher and activist Raouf Farrah tells OkayAfrica.
Farrah is participating as an individual activist, helping by gathering supplies and transporting materials. "We want this action to reignite popular mobilization across borders and force governments to reckon with their inaction," he continues. "At the very least, the convoy sends a clear message: from Tunis to Algiers to Libya, Egypt, and Morocco, people are rising in solidarity with Gaza."
The majority of North Africans have been in solidarity with Palestinians for decades, but their governments have resorted to performative criticism of Israel's occupation. In Egypt, dozens of pro-Palestinian Egyptians, including minors, have been arrested for practicing solidarity; at least 150 currently remain in pretrial detention facing charges of terrorism.
This makes North Africa a complex and unlikely place for such a show of civilian force post-2011. Especially in Egypt, many doubt that the Al-Soumoud Convoy will be allowed to cross the highly militarized Sinai Peninsula.
The situation is complicated by the Global March to Gaza, comprising delegations from over 50 countries that plan to walk from Al-Arish to Rafah on June 13. The organization is separate but in coordination with the convoy. This is not the first time a delegation has tried to reach Rafah; the Egyptian government thwarted efforts in 2023.
"It is a source of disappointment and embarrassment for all Egyptians that our government is highly unlikely to allow either the Tunisian or global marches to make their way to Rafah. The Egyptian government has since the beginning of the genocidal war in Gaza restricted access by Egyptian citizens and Egyptian and foreign media to come even close to the area, except for highly choreographed assemblies by its ardent supporters and pro-government media," Hossam Bahgat, Executive Director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, tells OkayAfrica.
The Al-Soumoud convoy is aware of the difficult political situation on the ground. Farrah shares, "We expect obstacles — from political obstruction to tight control and possibly limited repression, as well as logistical challenges, especially at borders with Egypt. But the will is firm. This convoy is a rejection of indifference and an act of dignity from below."
However, many Egyptians and Palestinians were concerned that the march volunteers lacked understanding of the immediate danger that comes with any sort of political action in Egypt. "We have built access to medical structures for displaced Palestinians with immense care, caution, and trust over more than a year and a half. These networks are fragile. They can disappear overnight if outside actors disrupt the political balance we've been carefully navigating," Lucy Mahfouz, a local aid worker who uses an alias for security reasons, tells OkayAfrica.
She continues, "People live here. Palestinians live here, and they are already being watched, harassed, denied access to care, or worse. What is framed as a symbolic gesture or a media action by international activists could have devastating, long-term consequences for them."
American author and human rights advocate Hannah Claire Smith is determined to join the march. "After 20 months of a live-streamed genocide, it's clear that educating people online about the ongoing atrocities isn't enough," she says. "It's time to escalate our advocacy and demand more from the international community."
Irish podcaster Danielle Cooper also flew to Cairo. "We want to amplify the voice of the global anti-genocide community and put pressure on governments who aren't doing anything," she says. "I'm not anticipating many obstacles; we aim to protest peacefully. The only challenges we may face are trekking through the Sinai desert in the blistering heat, which is a drop in the ocean compared to what the people of Palestine are facing every day."
Online, Egyptians called the plan “pure adventurism,” “colonial behaviour,” and expressing outrage over thousands of dollars being raised for the march, which could be sent directly to Palestinian families. One social media user says, “The idea of marching to Gaza is beyond dangerous and delusional.”
Photo by Dee/Instagram
"We have sent letters from the different international delegations to the Egyptian embassies. Parliamentarians have sent letters on our behalf to the Egyptian government. We have worked on our discourse, content of communication with the press, and chart of ethics, and I feel we have taken all the necessary steps to guarantee permission," says Saif Abukeshek, chair of the international committee of the Global March to Gaza. "We see Egypt as part of the solution, and we count on their support to fulfill our mission and reach the border."
The willingness of these volunteers, who are said to be thousands, to set aside their daily lives and physically show up in this moment of moral urgency should be an inspiration and a reminder for all of us that we must do better. Everyone has a role to play, and nobody will be free until all of us are free.
At the same time, doing better means listening to those on the ground and considering the long-term consequences and practicality of political action. In an ideal world, the convoy and march join forces and walk to Rafah, supported by the Egyptian government, to open a humanitarian corridor and finally end the siege. The reality, however, looks different.
On Wednesday, June 11, the Egyptian government published a statement reaffirming the regulations governing visits by foreign delegations to areas adjacent to the Gaza Strip, including Al-Arish and the Rafah border crossing.
As of today, June 12, Cairo authorities have detained and deported dozens of foreign nationals arriving in Egypt for the Global March to Gaza. There are reports of hotel raids in central Cairo, with several activists arrested. One organiser told news agency AFP that more than 200 foreign citizens had been detained at the Cairo airport since Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Al-Soumoud convoy has not yet been granted permission to traverse Eastern Libya, which is under the control of General Khalifa Haftar, whose government is closely aligned with the Egyptian President.
"At the very least, we hope to show the people of Gaza they are not alone and to force the international community to reckon with its complicity," says Smith. "Even if governments don't act immediately, we believe mass mobilization can shift what's politically possible."
To this, Mahfouz says, "If a regime that has brutally repressed any form of Palestinian solidarity is suddenly letting foreign nationals approach the border and post about it freely, you should ask: who is benefiting from this? Because it is clearly not the Palestinians living here. If anything, this kind of action allows the regime to posture while cracking down even harder on those who stay behind. It risks turning solidarity into a stage, while those living under daily surveillance pay the price."
This story was originally posted June 10, 2025 at 3:52 p.m. and has been updated.
June 12, 10:19 a.m. Updated to include updates of participant deportations by the Egyptian government.
