Latest news with #blockade
The National
11 hours ago
- General
- The National
Gaza's children yearn for simple treats parents can can no longer provide
In a quiet corner of Gaza city, Muneera Abu Hani sits with her eight children, their eyes reflecting a longing no parent wants to face. Her youngest daughter, Widad, dreams of chocolate, a small treat once easily attainable but now entirely out of reach. 'Widad is just eight,' Ms Abu Hani, 42, told The National. 'She loves chocolate and asks me for it all the time. But it's not in the markets any more. And there's nothing harder than seeing your child want something so small, and not being able to give it.' This is the daily torment facing parents across Gaza with the territory under siege. For more than 20 months, Gaza has faced not only war but a tightening blockade that has choked the economy, emptied markets and made even essentials hard to come by. With border crossings closed to the free flow of goods, what were once daily provisions such as bread or fruit have become a luxury, a distant memory. 'Children suffer the most in a famine,' Ms Abu Hani says. 'They don't understand why things have disappeared. They only know they're hungry, or that they want something. And we, their parents, are powerless.' In the Al Nasr neighbourhood of the city, Mohammed Shubeir recounts a similar struggle. 'I live in an apartment full of children. They ask for everything, things they used to eat every day. The markets are empty of even the basics,' says Mr Shubeir, 36. 'We passed a street stall the other day that had a single small piece of chocolate. It used to cost a quarter of a dollar. Now it's 12 dollars.' It is a steep price for a bite of sweetness that, to a child, means comfort, normality, happiness. 'These traders hoarded goods to sell them now at sky-high prices," Mr Shubeir says. "When my kids ask for things that I can't find or can't afford, I just tell them to wait until the crossings open. But they keep asking, and I have nothing. That helplessness is the worst feeling in the world.' Rima Al Madhoun, 33, says her son Kareem wakes up asking for chips and juice. 'I have nothing, just bread and cold tea without sugar. That's all we have,' she says. Her husband roams the markets daily, trying to find anything – vegetables, fruit, baby food – for their four children, the youngest just one year old. 'It's not like our children are asking for toys or luxuries,' Ms Al Madhoun says. 'They just want vegetables. Some fruit. Something fresh. But we can't get anything. Even if you had money, there's nothing to buy.' The devastating war has created a grim reality for Gaza's children, displaced from their homes, their education disrupted, surrounded by death and living in a landscape of widespread destruction. 'The occupation has stolen everything from our children,' says Ms Abu Hani. 'Even the right to want something.' Parents find themselves no longer decision-makers; they are spectators to their children's suffering, able only to offer apologies and empty promises when all their children want is food. It is a slow, silent heartbreak to be endured in the shadow of a war with no end in sight.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Soup kitchen distributes meals to desperate Palestinians in Gaza City tent camp amid Israeli blockade
A soup kitchen distributed food in a Gaza City tent camp on Saturday as Palestinians struggle to get meals amid Israel's ongoing blockade and military operation. Palestinians across the Gaza Strip have become increasingly desperate as nearly three months of Israeli border closures have pushed the territory to the brink of famine.
The National
5 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Foreign activists resist Egypt's attempts to block Global March to Gaza
Many participants in the Global March to Gaza have vowed to remain in Cairo and make another attempt to reach the Rafah border crossing, despite arrests, deportations and violent confrontations with Egyptian authorities who say they did not obtain permission for their show of solidarity with the war-battered Palestinian territory. Some activists posted videos on social media to urge others to stay in the Egyptian capital and continue their mission of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. 'If you're in Cairo, stay here. Do not leave," said one. "We came to Egypt with the promise that we would break the blockade and bring humanitarian aid to the border. Being stopped one time is not failure. We will be able to do what we have set out to accomplish." Another activist emphasised the symbolic importance of breaking through state barriers to show solidarity with Gazans, who are suffering daily Israeli attacks, starvation and displacement in the war between Israel and Hamas, now in its 21st month. 'The whole purpose of this march is to show Palestinians inside Gaza that they are not alone,' he said. 'People on the outside, ordinary people, are here for them. We are trying to break through these barriers to send a message: the war must end.' The march, known in Arabic as Masirat Al Ahrar (March of the Free), aimed to bring together thousands of pro-Palestine activists from 54 countries to deliver a message of solidarity with Gazans and demand an end to Israel's blockade of the territory. However, their efforts were met with significant resistance from Egyptian authorities, who intensified security measures and detained hundreds of participants. Egyptian security officials told The National on Sunday that nearly 500 foreign activists had been deported, of whom more than 200 were sent home on arrival at Cairo airport. The remainder were detained just outside the Suez Canal city of Ismailia before they were put on buses and taken to Cairo airport from where they left the country. The officials said authorities were investigating how security agencies failed to detect plans by the foreign activists to converge in Egypt to stage the march. "This apparent negligence has led to damaging scenes shared online of our policemen beating unarmed activists, dragging them to buses or just confiscating their passports," said one official. In a statement issued late on Saturday, the organisers reaffirmed their commitment to breaking the siege on Gaza while expressing gratitude to the Egyptian people for their hospitality and support. In their statement, the organisers described the challenges they faced, including what they labelled as acts of "thuggery" by prostate groups. These incidents occurred in Ismailia, about 120km from Cairo, where activists were attacked by individuals allegedly mobilised by the state to prevent their entry into the militarily sensitive region of North Sinai. "We thank the Egyptian people for their warm welcome and hospitality," the statement read. "What happened does not represent the will of the Egyptian people. Our only goal was to advance to Rafah, break the blockade on our Palestinian brethren in Gaza, and stop the war.' Footage widely circulated on social media shows activists at a checkpoint just outside Ismailia being assaulted by men described by the organisers as "thugs". Mandla Mandela, grandson of the late South African president Nelson Mandela, posted a video from the checkpoint in which he said his passport was confiscated by authorities. The activists involved were taken back to Cairo aboard buses and processed for deportation, the organisers said. Egyptian authorities have defended their handling of the situation, stating that the activists did not have the proper permissions required to cross Egyptian territory en route to Gaza. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that while the government supports Palestinian activism, foreign visitors planning to travel to sensitive areas, such as the Rafah border, must adhere to strict protocols and secure prior approvals. Activists say they submitted formal requests to various Egyptian embassies but received no response, so they decided to gather in Egypt to ensure their voices were heard. The Egyptian state is sensitive to large demonstrations, which have been outlawed since 2013, when the military removed Mohamed Morsi from the presidency amid widespread protests against him. The march organisers said they were aware of this, which is why they did not ask Egyptians to take part. They said they were merely for the marchers to be able to reach the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. 'We want to remind everyone that the march is not aiming to cause any sedition or incite a revolution. On the contrary, this march is and will remain peaceful,' said one organiser. Meanwhile, another Rafah-bound group of activists travelling as the Qafelat Al Somood, or Convoy of Steadfastness, has been halted in eastern Libya after setting off from Tunisia on June 9 and passing through western Libya. The convoy, which includes activists, doctors, and journalists, was supposed to enter Egypt and join the Global March to Gaza. The convoy's organisers, including the Tunisia-based Co-ordination of Joint Action for Palestine, said it was blocked by forces loyal to the military commander Khalifa Haftar, who is aligned with the eastern-based rival administration to the Government of National Unity in Tripoli, as it attempted to pass through the city of Sirte. A representative of the co-ordination group said in a televised statement on Saturday night that the convoy's camp in eastern city had been surrounded by Mr Haftar's forces and that internet access in the area had been cut off. A negotiating team was reportedly sent to meet Mr Haftar's representatives. A spokesman for the eastern Libyan government said on Saturday that it was prepared to provide food and medical aid to the convoy but it would only be allowed through once the activists had obtained proper approvals from the Egyptian government.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Pro-Palestine protesters on ‘march to Gaza' beaten by Egyptian police
Egyptian authorities halted demonstrators planning to march to the country's border with Gaza with the stated aim of breaking Israel's blockade on the territory. A separate convoy of protesters travelling from Tunisia to meet the larger group was also stopped on Friday by security forces in eastern Libya. Men in plain clothes were seen in footage kicking and beating demonstrators and attempting to drag some away from the group. The protesters responded by throwing water at the men, video footage shows. It was not immediately clear whether the assaults were by security services or bystanders, and what unfolded prior to the altercations. Organisers of the protest – Global March to Gaza – said that 4,000 protesters from 80 countries were planning to land in Egypt for the demonstration. The additional convoy coming to Egypt overland was said to be around another 2,000 people. Passports of at least 40 people were confiscated, organisers said, after demonstrators demanded to be let through a checkpoint patrolled by officers in riot gear and flanked by armoured vehicles. Security forces then began forcibly detaining and removing activists to halt the protests. 'Forty participants of the Global March to Gaza have had their passports taken at a checkpoint on the way out of Cairo,' organisers said in a statement. 'They are being held in the heat and not allowed to move,' the statement said, adding that another '15 are being held at hotels'. The activists are from France, Spain, Canada, Turkey and the United Kingdom, the statement said. It added: 'We are a peaceful movement and we are complying with Egyptian law.' The group urged embassies to help secure their release so they could complete their voyage. "Please help your Muslim brothers and sisters…" A Welsh nurse pleads with Egyptian security forces to allow them to march to #Gaza and deliver aid to starving Palestinians. #Egypt — DOAM (@doamuslims) June 14, 2025 Among those who have been detained include Irish MP Paul Murphy, Turkish MP Faruk Dincer, and Hala Rharrit, a former US diplomat who resigned from her position over Washington's handling of the war in Gaza. A clip of Dincer, released by his political party, shows him in blood-stained clothes. A statement said that he 'was injured as a result of an attack'. 'We have had our passports confiscated and are being detained,' Mr Murphy posted on X. 'It seems Egyptian authorities have decided to crack down on the #GreatMarchTo Gaza. We are refusing to board the deportation bus.' Murphy, along with others, are now being taken to the airport in Cairo and will be deported. Some activists, like Ms Rharrit, were detained and interrogated upon arriving in Cairo. As reports were released of demonstrators being blocked, arrested and deported, some international activists who arrived to Cairo later chose instead to stay behind. The march drew a number of high-profile participants, including Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, a former South African lawmaker and grandson of Nelson Mandela. It is the latest in a spate of similar demonstrations, aimed at drawing attention to the devastating humanitarian crises that have swept the Gaza Strip after Israel sealed the border and blocked aid trucks from entering in March. The Madleen, a Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, arrived at an Israeli port earlier in the week. She and the other activists on board were quickly deported by Israeli authorities. Israel began allowing some limited aid into Gaza last month, but experts and charities have said the supplies were nowhere near the volume needed for the enclave, which has been bombarded with Israeli strikes. Egypt's position The march underscores Egypt's challenging position as a country that receives US military aid, and the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The country, similarly to Jordan, has simultaneously cracked down on pro-Palestine activists while publicly calling for the war in Gaza to end. Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, said on Wednesday he expected the Egyptian authorities to prevent and halt the demonstrators at 'the border of Egypt-Israel and not allow them to carry out provocations and to try to enter into Gaza'. Mr Katz said the arrival of the demonstrators could 'endanger the security of the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] soldiers and we will not allow it'. Alexis Deswaef, a Belgian human rights lawyer, said he woke up to find dozens of security vehicles packed with uniformed officers in an area of Cairo where he and other activists were staying in hotels ahead of the planned march. 'I am so surprised to see the Egyptians doing the dirty work of Israel,' he said.
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
March to Gaza halted in Egypt as authorities crack down on activists
CAIRO, June 14 — Egyptian authorities have blocked activists' efforts to hold a march to the Gaza border to draw attention to Israel's blockade of the war-torn Palestinian territory, organisers said Saturday. Several dozen activists hoping to join the planned Global March to Gaza were stopped on the edge of Cairo as they attempted to reach the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya, the organisers said. From there they had hoped to travel on by road to the North Sinai city of El-Arish, the starting point for their planned march to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on the Gaza border. Most of the activists were ordered onto buses back to the capital after several hours of questioning, but some remained in custody on Saturday, the organisers said. 'We were blocked for six to seven hours before security forces violently dispersed our group,' one organiser said. At least one activist was expelled from Egypt, several sources said, adding to dozens more denied entry or expelled in the run-up. Egyptian authorities have not commented on the reported expulsions. Activists, heading towards Gaza by land are greeted by Libyans after crossing into Libya from Tunisia. — AFP pic The foreign ministry had warned that while Egypt backs efforts to put 'pressure on Israel' to lift its Gaza blockade, any foreign delegations intending to visit the border area must obtain prior permission. — AFP
