Authorities arrest 3 Egyptian Sumud Flotilla members

Authorities arrested at least three members of the Egyptian Sumud Flotilla on Monday evening, the flotilla’s media spokesperson, Hossam Mahmoud, told Mada Masr.

Volunteer activists and members of political groups began weeks ago to organize from Cairo to join over 50 boats from around the world sailing in the Global Sumud Flotilla across the Mediterranean to break Israel’s siege on the Gaza Strip.

It is the latest in a set of popular initiatives including protests and student organizing in which Egyptians have sought to take action in solidarity with Palestinians — only to face arrest or security restrictions.

Mahmoud told Mada Masr that the arrests took place when members and volunteers were present at the flotilla’s headquarters in Dokki to sort donations arriving from across the governorates.

Several members of the preparatory committee and volunteers described a deployment of security personnel in the area who questioned them about why they were passing through, Mahmoud said.

“Two members of the preparatory committee left the headquarters to buy coffee, " Mahmoud recalled. “We waited for their return for more than two hours.”

“We lost communication with them. Eyewitnesses near the headquarters later told us they saw the two being arrested and “taken away in a microbus.”

Mahmoud added that the brother of one volunteer later informed the initiative’s committees that the volunteer had also gone missing and could not be reached after leaving the flotilla headquarters.

“Of course, we assumed that he had been arrested amid the tightened security around the headquarters late last night,” the flotilla spokesperson said.

The flotilla group is made up of a volunteer committee comprising five young activists and a preparatory committee, which includes over 60 members, predominantly representatives of political parties and movements and prominent activists, mainly from the opposition, flotilla general coordinator Khaled Bassiouny told Mada Masr.

There are also several other volunteers who help sort in-kind donations. 

The Egyptian Sumud Flotilla was warned of possible arrests earlier this month and was forced to cancel a press conference at its temporary office at the Karama Party headquarters to protect both the organizers and attendees, a source familiar with the committee’s work told Mada Masr at the time.

The preparatory committee then sent letters to several official bodies in an attempt to secure permits for its ship to join the global flotilla to Gaza. The Cabinet has said it is reviewing the request.

Authorities in Egypt have conducted over 150 arrests targeting people demonstrating, organizing or even donating to support Palestinians since Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza in 2023, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.