Activists involved in the Global March to Gaza, which is protesting against Israel’s bombardment of the territory and offering help to the Palestinians there, have described violent scuffles at the hands of Egyptian security forces.

An Irish politician who was among the activists said his phone and passport were confiscated, and a march organizer said protesters were attacked as they headed to the border at Egypt’s Rafah crossing.

Newsweek has contacted the march organizers and the Egyptian Foreign Ministry for comment.

Why It Matters

The Global March to Gaza has been touted as one of the largest demonstrations of its kind in years. The initiative seeks to highlight the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, who have faced a bombardment due to Israel’s war on Hamas.

The arrests in Egypt follow Israel’s interception of a boat carrying activists on their way to Gaza, including environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg. Egypt has cracked down on pro-Palestinian activists even as it publicly condemns Israeli aid restrictions and has called for an end to the war.

What To Know

The Global March to Gaza is a civilian-led initiative to march from Arish, Egypt, to the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip beginning on Sunday.

Once in Rafah, the goal was to set up a camp and work to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, provide humanitarian aid to the strip and protest against Israel’s actions in the territory.

Protest organizers said Egyptian authorities confiscated the passports of 40 activists at what they called a “toll booth turned checkpoint,” with security forces detaining and using force, the Associated Press reported.

Previously, hundreds arriving in Cairo were detained and deported to their home countries in Europe and North Africa.

The activists planned to gather on the road to the Sinai to prepare for Sunday’s march, although authorities had not yet granted them authorization to travel through the sensitive area.

The Tunisian and Libyan delegation of the march left Tunis, Tunisia, on June 9 but was stopped in the city of Sirte, about 585 miles from the Libya-Egypt border.

Antonietta Chiodo, who traveled to Cairo from Italy, said activists had been detained, interrogated, treated harshly by Egyptian authorities or deported, the AP reported.

In a video message, Melanie Schweizer, one of the march organizers, said police had attacked activists on their way to the Rafah border, confiscated their passports and forced them onto a bus escorted by Egyptian security forces. She said she saw a woman being beaten. Schweizer added: “We are in danger. This is an emergency. We need help.”

Paul Murphy, an Irish politician with the People Before Profit–Solidarity party, posted a video on social media in which he said passports had been confiscated and that he and his fellow activists were refusing to board the “deportation bus.”

Meanwhile, footage widely shared on social media purported to show activists receiving a hostile reaction from citizens in Egypt.

What People Are Saying

Melanie Schweizer, an organizer of the Global March on Gaza, said in a video: “This is an emergency. We have just been violently dragged into the buses. … They started to push people and drag them violently outside. They have beaten people.”

She added: “This is a very shocking incident.”

The Global March on Gaza said in a statement: “We continue to urge the Egyptian government to permit this peaceful march.”

Irish politician Paul Murphy said in a video on X: “It’s looking worrying that the Egyptian authorities are going to act to try to prevent our peaceful march to Gaza.”

What Happens Next

Hicham El-Ghaoui, one of the group’s spokespeople, said they would refrain from demonstrating until authorized by Egypt. Activists anticipated more arrests ahead of Sunday’s protest.