GENEVA/ISTANBUL 

Activists and health care professionals from 31 countries are organizing a "Global March to Gaza" next month, aiming to put pressure on international bodies to act amid the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave.

Participants will gather in Egypt on June 12 and march to the Rafah border crossing in northern Sinai as part of a week-long campaign demanding immediate humanitarian access to Gaza, where aid has been cut off since March 2.

Dr. Huseyin Durmaz, a Türkiye-based physician and member of the International Health Initiative, told Anadolu that the region faces “very serious” health and humanitarian problems.

"Throughout this process, international institutions and governments did not perform exactly as expected. The United Nations and other institutions, unfortunately, even during wartime, failed to apply the principle of not obstructing humanitarian aid to Israel," Durmaz said.

He said the coalition, which includes over 150 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), is politically neutral and is united purely for humanitarian purposes.

“We came together with activists from over 150 NGOs from 31 countries and formed an international coalition,” Durmaz said.

“This time we will march to the Rafah border crossing to remind international institutions of their duties and to put pressure on them so that the situation in Gaza can end and be opened to humanitarian aid.”  

Week of demonstrations  

Durmaz said the campaign will begin in Egypt on June 12, when participants arrive in Cairo and travel to the city of al-Arish. They plan to begin the march toward the Rafah crossing on June 13, hold rallies on June 14, and stage a large protest on June 15.

They will remain in tents near the crossing until June 20.

“We will also hold tent protests during this three-day period. We will make our voices heard to the whole world in Rafah for two days.

"June 15 in our announcement is the day of the big rally and protest. However, the program actually starts on June 12. We plan to end the program on June 20,” he said.

He said the group has contacted Egyptian officials through diplomatic channels but has not received formal approval yet.

“We made the necessary explanations to the Egyptian authorities regarding the purpose of the action,” Durmaz said. “We are expecting permission for this peaceful and civil action.”

The organizers expect between 2,500 and 3,000 people to join the campaign. There is no official cap on participation.    

Context of blockade, mass casualties    

The planned march comes amid the second year of genocide in Gaza. Israeli military operations resumed on March 18 after the collapse of a ceasefire that had been in place since Jan. 19.

Since then, at least 3,613 Palestinians have been killed and more than 10,100 injured, according to health authorities in Gaza.

The overall death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, now exceeds 53,700, with more than 122,900 people injured.

Since March 2, Israel has completely closed Gaza's border crossings. According to aid agencies, the blockade has caused famine in parts of the enclave, resulting in numerous deaths from hunger and a lack of medicine.