International participants in the march for Gaza say they were assaulted by 'thugs in civilian clothes' as authorities blocked hundreds from reaching border of occupied Palestine

The Global March to Gaza is a civilian-led initiative to march from Arish, Egypt, to the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip beginning on Sunday. Once in Rafah, the goal was to set up a camp and work to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, provide humanitarian aid to the strip and protest against Israel's actions in the territory.

Thousands of activists from around the world are expected to descend on Egypt on Thursday for a “Global March to Gaza,” a movement aiming to break the Israeli blockade that has pushed the territory to the brink of famine.