Three Egyptian activists set to join Gaza flotilla disappear

Three Egyptian activists who were preparing to take part in the Egyptian arm of the Global Sumud Flotilla have disappeared, campaigners are reporting.

The Egyptian Sumud Flotilla, a civil society initiative involving hundreds of activists including journalists, medics and doctors, was seeking to join the Global Sumud Flotilla which is currently carrying 300 tonnes of aid to Gaza in a bid to break Israel’s total blockade on the territory.

Flotilla campaigners reported that the three activists were last seen in downtown Cairo and disappeared in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Ziad Bassioni, one of the flotilla organisers, told the New Arab that their families reported that “they did not come home”.

The flotilla organisers believe that the activists’ disappearances are directly related to their involvement in the initiative, despite the Egyptian authorities failing to issue a statement confirming whether or not they are being detained.

In a statement shared on Facebook, the flotilla organisers said that the activists’ alleged detention is “unjustifiable”, highlighting their repeated efforts to secure permission from the authorities to join the global flotilla.

In late September, campaigners told MEE that the Egyptian authorities had failed to green light the initiative, despite repeated attempts by campaigners to contact them.

They also said they had lost contact with the owner of one of the five vessels set to sail as part of the flotilla. Local media outlet Al Manassa reported that the owner had pulled out of the initiative after receiving “threats and security pressure”.

The Egyptian Flotilla has gathered about four tonnes of aid to be loaded onto five boats bound for Gaza to support the broader global effort to break the Israeli siege on the territory.

Over 1,200 participants registered to take part via an online form, including 29 marine assistants, 24 captains, 150 journalists, 152 medics, 300 doctors and 54 lawyers. 

The flotilla organisers said they were assessing “all available options” to deliver the aid they had collected via “an international organisation or local civil society groups through a mechanism which will be announced soon”.

While the aid is largely symbolic, the organisers emphasised that their main goal is to “show popular support for our Palestinian brothers and to break the siege imposed on them”.

Meanwhile, activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla are bracing for an imminent Israeli interception as their boats near Gaza.