Tunis, June 10 — Land convoy Soumoud to Break the Gaza Siege reached the Libyan city of Zaouïa, about 50km west of Tripoli, late on Tuesday afternoon. The convoy is organised by the Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine.

Participants will spend the night in Joud Daïm camp in a bid to gear up for the next stages of the journey to Egypt then to the Rafah border crossing, before reaching the Gaza Strip.

The convoy was greeted by large crowds as it entered the Libyan territory, spokesperson Wael Nawar told TAP.

Nearly one thousand Tunisians across the country are participating in this drive of solidarity with Gaza along with over 140 Algerians and some Moroccan and Mauritanian nationals boarding buses and passenger cars.

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They were accompanied by Libyan humanitarian organisations, including the Libyan Red Crescent, and local enforcement forces from the Ras Jedir border crossing to Zaouïa.

A meeting is slated to bring together on Tuesday evening the organising committee and representatives of Libyan authorities and civil society at the camp to agree on details of the journey and symbolic artistic and cultural activities on the agenda.

Nawar said some Tunisian participants left the convoy on the recommendations of doctors volunteering as part of the journey.

The convoy smoothly crossed the border with Libya after pausing in Ben Guerdane.

Aid delivery is not the ultimate goal, the spokesperson added. The move is intended to exercise pressure to open border crossings and secure unimpeded humanitarian access to Rafah.

Representatives of leading Tunisian organisations are participating in the convoy, mainly the Tunisian General Labour Union, the National Bar Association, the Tunisian League of Human Rights, the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, Tunisian Scouts and student unions. This in addition to doctors, writers and artists.