To break the Israeli siege, Egypt deports and imprisons dozens of people who are marching to Gaza.

The “Global March to Gaza,” a nonviolent march to the Israeli-controlled Rafah crossing along Gaza’s border with Egypt, brought thousands of demonstrators to Cairo on Thursday. The organizers believe that some 4,000 people from more than 80 nations will participate in the march, however some estimates put that figure far higher.Another convoy of about 2,000 individuals from many North African nations, traveling from Tunisia, will join the group. They will take busses from Cairo to Arish, where they will march 30 miles through the Sinai desert while camped out.The march intends to highlight Israel’s 18-year siege of Gaza by arriving at the border on Friday in a “symbolic act.” The demonstrators want to put pressure on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza, which has made the already dire humanitarian situation in the region worse.However, Egyptian officials have arrested and deported scores of demonstrators, despite organizers claiming they had communicated with them to guarantee all march participants have the required licenses. The Egyptian authorities have arrested and interrogated around 200 individuals. According to local media, many have already been deported, and many are being kept in hotels or airports.

40 Algerians, 12 Moroccans, 10 Norwegians, 6 Germans, and 1 from the UK were deported, according to the organizers. “In keeping with Egypt’s own expressed interest in seeing an end to the blockade and restoring stability at its border, we urge the Egyptian authorities to release all detained individuals and allow the entrance of march participants,” the organizers said in a statement.Egypt has frequently voiced its concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the unsustainable conditions at the Rafah gate, they continued. Endorsing this international, nonviolent effort would strengthen Egypt’s standing as a major player in the fight for humanitarian access. Through a common dedication to humanity, the Global March to Gaza has inspired millions of people worldwide and brought together thousands of people from more than 80 nations. This is a morally righteous and immediate response to the Israeli government’s forced famine, bombing, and suffering of more than two million people.Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, requested Egypt to prevent the marchers—whom he referred to as “jihadist protesters”—from entering Palestinian land. They “would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed,” he added, adding that if the demonstrators managed to make it to the border crossing, the IDF would step in. It comes days after the British-flagged flotilla Madleen, which carried 12 activists, including Greta Thunberg, in an effort to draw attention to and try to lift Israel’s siege.

The Israeli military intercepted the boat, which was intended to provide relief to Gaza’s civilian population and raise awareness of the humanitarian plight there. The activists on board claim they were “kidnapped” in international waters and were arrested and questioned after “illegally entering” Israel. While some, like French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, are still detained in an Israeli prison, others, like Thunberg, have consented to be deported from Israel.

Even though Israel ended its nearly three-month-long entire blockade of Gaza, the aid that is currently entering the region is far less than what it was previously receiving and has been called a “teaspoon” of what UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has demanded. After outlawing long-standing distribution agencies and establishing a new system primarily manned by US contractors, Israel has also come under fire for its aid delivery strategy. Because it seeks to provide relief at strongly militarized central hubs—which are sometimes overwhelmed by desperate Palestinians—this new organization, GHF, has been tainted by controversy.

However, Egyptian officials have arrested and deported scores of demonstrators, despite organizers claiming they had communicated with them to guarantee all march participants have the required licenses.