GAZA-BOUND LAND CONVOY DEPARTS TUNISIA TO BREAK SIEGE

Tue 10 June 2025:

Hundreds of activists from across North Africa have launched a symbolic land convoy, aiming to cross into the besieged Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing.

A large land convoy carrying hundreds of activists from Tunisia and other nations departed from Tunis on Monday, embarking on a journey to the Gaza Strip. The initiative, named “Soumoud” (Arabic for “steadfastness”) or the “Maghreb resilience convoy,” aims to symbolically break the ongoing Israeli siege and express solidarity with the Palestinian people facing a severe humanitarian crisis.

The convoy, consisting of buses and other vehicles, is not primarily carrying humanitarian aid. Instead, its organisers describe it as a “symbolic act” intended to raise global awareness and challenge the blockade that has left Gaza’s 2.4 million residents on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations. Participants include doctors, lawyers, journalists, and activists from Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Morocco.

The planned route will take the activists across the Tunisian coast, through Libya, and into Egypt, with the final destination being the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza. Jawaher Channa, a spokeswoman for the organising group, the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine, stated that while they have not yet received official permission from Egyptian authorities to cross, they will proceed with the journey. “We are about a thousand people, and we will have more join us along the way,” Channa told AFP.

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A Coordinated Global Effort

This land convoy is part of a broader international movement to support Palestinians in Gaza. Mohamed Amine Bennour, the convoy’s medical coordinator, explained to Anadolu Agency that the effort involves coordination with groups in more than 30 countries across Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia. These initiatives include attempts to reach Gaza by land, sea, and air.

The departure of the Soumoud convoy follows another recent attempt to breach the blockade by sea. The Madleen aid boat, which had activists like Swedish climate advocate Greta Thunberg and Franco-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan on board, was intercepted by Israeli forces on Monday morning before it could reach Gaza. Saher Al-Masri, a representative of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, drew a parallel between the two efforts, stating, “This Convoy of Steadfastness, like that ship, is a message of challenge and will.”

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire after 21 months of war. International pressure has been mounting on Israel to allow more aid into the territory to alleviate widespread shortages of food, water, and medical supplies. This latest land convoy from North Africa underscores the continued global civilian efforts to highlight the crisis and push for an end to the siege.