13 June 2025
North Africa’s ‘Soumoud’ caravan, or “Caravan of Steadfastness” is currently heading to Rafah to break the siege on Gaza. It emerged in an extremely complex context, amid the ongoing suffering of the people of Gaza.
It represents a unique event —not just a humanitarian gesture, but a defiant response to the deafening silence and ongoing complicity of the Arab rulers in the face of the relentless massacre of the Palestinians. It serves as a message of pressure, sent by the Tunisian masses and the wider public across North Africa to decision-makers in Arab governments.
From the beginning, this initiative was rooted in a continuation of a series of mobilizations that erupted across the region after October 7, 2023. Though it carries only symbolic aid like some medicine, food, and clothing, its primary goal is political: to confront state collaboration and help bring an end to the catastrophe in Gaza.
At the time of writing, the caravan is near the western Egyptian border, on the Libyan side, making its way toward the Rafah crossing to contribute to breaking the Israeli-led —but also Egyptian-enforced— siege on Gaza, especially after the obstinance of the Zionist government and its ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing.
How did coordination and preparation for this caravan begin? What are its expected goals?
This caravan is part of the broader international solidarity effort known as the Global March to Gaza, called for by voices from all over the world standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people—who are killed, starved, besieged, and brutalized on a daily basis. Even worse is the silence, betrayal, and permissiveness of global powers, who continue supplying weapons that are used to murder innocent children and civilians—whose only “crime” is their attachment to their land and their right to live.
We might call this the Maghreb Caravan, as it includes a significant number of people who set off from Algiers on June 8. They were proudly and enthusiastically received upon reaching the Algerian-Tunisian border, and then joined the Tunisian caravan in the heart of the capital to proceed toward the border crossing between Tunisia and Libya in the early hours of June 9.
Preparations for the caravan began over three weeks before its launch, a relatively short period but sufficient to complete all logistical arrangements that could otherwise delay its journey. To clarify, and in light of today’s confusion and conflicting reports on whether the caravan will be allowed to enter Egyptian territory, the Coordinating Committee for Joint Action to Free Palestine officially submitted a request from Tunisia to the Egyptian embassy to facilitate the caravan’s passage toward the Rafah crossing.
The main idea was that people from all walks of life decided to participate in this symbolic solidarity action by traveling through Libya and Egypt to reach Rafah by the scheduled date of June 15, joining other caravans and solidarity delegations arriving by land, sea, and air.
Thanks to social media and the rapid spread of the idea, coordination was made with activists and volunteers interested in joining. As noted, it was agreed to wait for the Algerian caravan to merge with the Tunisian one before heading to Libya and then Egypt—hoping to reach besieged Gaza, break the blockade, and deliver much-needed aid: food, water, and medical supplies that have been stuck near the border for a very long time.
The caravan has been met with widespread public support since the early morning of June 9 at major assembly points throughout Tunisia. According to statistics from the Coordinating Committee for the Defense of Palestine, over 1,500 people are participating—many of them prominent activists from labor unions and human rights organizations, such as the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the General Union of Tunisian Students (UGET), the Bar Association, and others.
The caravan also includes doctors and medical personnel, in case emergency care is needed on the long journey.
This is not just a Tunisian caravan—it includes people from across North Africa. If they are allowed to continue, they are likely to receive significant support in Egypt, where hundreds more are expected to join them in solidarity.
All those who joined or supported the caravan did so voluntarily, driven by deep belief in the Palestinian cause. They carry, every day, the anguish and tragedy of their siblings who have endured hunger, bombings, and genocide for two years.
Their decision was to uphold justice and add their voice to the global movement heading toward the Rafah crossing, saying “Enough!” to the genocide and joining this international call to act.
The participants and supporters of this caravan strongly believe in its potential to effect change. They see their initiative as a step toward awakening dead consciences in the region, rekindling determination, and strengthening the daily struggle against Zionist oppression—toward lifting the siege once and for all.
What has the caravan achieved so far, even before reaching the Egyptian border?
In just the past two days, the caravan has covered over 1,500 kilometers. Many have asked about the conditions on the ground. One can respond by pointing to the long history of solidarity between peoples. Many lessons have been learned about mutual support and cooperation.
Since entering Libyan territory, the caravan has not had to pay for vehicle fuel or phone charging costs (for internet access and communication). Solidarity has been overwhelming—both materially and morally—including facilitation of movement.
These acts of support show how artificial the borders are, and how capitalist governments have failed—subservient to colonial powers and determined to repress their peoples, even denying them the right to move freely.
Now, having reached the outskirts of Benghazi, near the Egyptian border—and after the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s statement two days ago—the caravan has slowed down.
Reports say Egyptian authorities have deployed reinforcements at the border with Libya to block the Caravan, and have been demanding that participants present visa applications before being allowed to proceed. At the time of writing, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s regime has still not granted permission to the “Caravan of Steadfastness” to cross.
In the meantime, the Egyptian state has detained, interrogated and deported many foreign activists arriving as part of the Global March to Gaza. This is clearly not administrative mismanagement —it is a calculated strategy of obstruction.
Despite its short timeframe, however, this caravan has already contributed to expose what Arab regimes have failed to do for the past year and a half of killing, starvation, and displacement in Gaza —through the influence and momentum it has helped generate. The caravan is a global act of resistance, built on:
- Exposing the complicity and betrayal of Arab regimes;
- Asserting the necessity of stimulating the oppressed people’s revolutionary will;
- Crossing borders as a form of resistance;
- Calling on the masses worldwide to mobilize to lift the siege and stop the genocide;
- Opening up new horizons for international struggle and solidarity
This caravan is an important act —proof that people across North Africa refuse to be silent in the face of the genocide. It can help galvanise the type of grassroots, mass and cross-border action needed to break the siege on Gaza.
In Tunisia, Algeria, and across the Maghreb, workers and students’ unions and social movements must seize the current momentum to coordinate and escalate actions also in their own countries.
Across the region, we must turn this caravan into a stepping stone for a broader, more organized movement of working-class and youth solidarity with Palestine—one that challenges Zionism, imperialism and all the Arab capitalist regimes that defend them.