Journalists in Egypt show support for Gazan colleagues

Jan 13, 2009, 13:47 GMT

Cairo - A group of Arab and international journalists left Cairo for the Egyptian-Gazan border Tuesday in an attempt to break the media blockade on the strip, one of the organizers told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The group includes 13 journalists from the US, Egypt, France, Morocco, Sudan, and Qatar, said Hagar Samouni, research coordinator in the Doha Centre for Media Freedom and one of the organizers of the trip.

'The trip is a show of solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues who are deprived of the basic tools they need to carry out their duties,' French journalist Zeinab al-Ghazawy told dpa.

Al-Ghazawy also said the journalists were protesting the Israeli Army's refusal to allow journalists into Gaza to cover the conflict.

The group is bringing first aid kits, note pads, cameras, bullet- proof vests, helmets, and other equipment Palestinian journalists had requested.

Samouni said organizers had coordinated the trip with Egyptian security officials so they would be allowed to deliver the supplies.

'If we were able to cross to Gaza borders this will be the first official visit of a media delegation from the Rafah crossing,' said Samouni, who is accompanying the group.