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Cairo, Egypt - Egyptian authorities have violently blocked an international effort to hold a march to the border to draw attention to Israel's starvation of millions of Palestinians, organizers said Saturday.

Hundreds of participants in the Global March to Gaza are being blocked by Egyptian authorities as they attempt to reach the border with the Palestinian territory. © Screenshot/X/@yipengGe

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 organizers 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 organizers said.

Participants also reported being assaulted, with a member of the Turkish parliament left bleeding after being hit by an object.

"We were blocked for six to seven hours before security forces violently dispersed our group," one organizer 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.

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.

Organizers of the Global March insisted that they have been coordinating with Egyptian authorities for weeks and have followed all official protocols.

Thousands of people from over 50 countries are taking part in the latest grassroots effort to force an end to Israel's campaign of mass killing and starvation in Gaza.

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