Activists seeking to enter Gaza face deportation from Cairo airport

Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal said on Thursday that the ministry would provide care for 62 political activists currently at Cairo Airport.

The activists arrived Wednesday night from Paris and started a sit-in at the airport in an attempt to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Crossing from Egypt, privately owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm said.

A security official stated that the activists couldn’t pass through Egypt, as the Rafah Crossing is currently closed. He added that they would have to go through Israel instead. The activists are from various nationalities and are also on the unwanted list and prohibited from entering the country, the official added.

The group allegedly refused to show their passports at passport control and upon arrival started chanting and holding the Palestinian flag, while others slept on the floor in protest, the newspaper added. They also refused to move to the waiting area or to a nearby airport hotel.

Airport authorities provided them with water and juice, and they are expected to be deported tomorrow.

Hamas stated on Thursday that the prevention of an "Arab and International women’s delegation" from entering Egypt is bad for the nation’s reputation.

Hamas' foreign affairs official, Bassem Naeem, said in a statement that the matter is “unacceptable.” Naeem added that the aim of the women's delegation is to alleviate the struggle Gazan residents experience on a daily basis, especially women and children. The official added that Hamas is well aware of the importance of Egypt to the Palestinian cause.

Meanwhile, the French Consul to Egypt expressed his apologies for the lack of cooperation from the activists and thanked Egyptian authorities for delivering their luggage to them.