Egyptian protestors storm state security HQ over Gaza crisis
A group of Egyptians stormed state security headquarters in Ma’asara and detained several security personnel for hours to protest Egypt’s role in the blockade of Gaza, according to Middle East Eye on July 26th.
On the night of July 25th, the group, which calls itself “Iron 17,” stormed the state security headquarters located at the Helwan police station just south of Cairo. The infiltration of a government building by civilians is an unprecedented act that has never before occurred since President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi seized power in 2013.
The raid, which was documented in videos that subsequently went viral, illustrated the growing public indignation at what is perceived to be the Egyptian government’s apathy towards the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the closure of the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border.
The Rafah border crossing is a key transit point that could act as an entry point for critical humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the infrastructure vital to sustaining human survival, such as hospitals and water and sanitation facilities, has been decimated by Israel.
The Israeli military seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in May 2024, after which the border was closed. Egypt and Israel blamed each other for the closure and the subsequent worsening of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In July alone, 48 people in the enclave died of causes related to malnutrition, according to AP News on July 25th. This illustrates the desperate need for more humanitarian aid to enter the territory, a fact that is not lost on Egyptians.
The Egyptian government has persistently denied any responsibility for Rafah’s closure. Despite this, it has been criticised for failing to pressure for its reopening, an indifference which has stoked public outrage. Many Egyptians perceive this as their government submitting to Israeli and US political pressures which actively undermine the Palestinian cause.
The North Sinai Governor, Khaled Megawer, admitted in an interview with pro-regime journalist Mustafa Bakri on July 25th that Egypt cannot unilaterally reopen Rafah due to US opposition to such a move. Critics viewed this as an implicit admission that Cairo is at least partially responsible for the closure, further intensifying public fury.
In the footage of the raid, which was posted to the Telegram channel “Nation’s Flood,” a group of young men holding officers captive inside the Ma’asara State Security office vocally condemned the closure of the Rafah crossing and the arrest of activists collecting aid for Gaza by Egyptian security forces. The footage has been viewed millions of times.
In one sinister and telling exchange, a detained officer responds to a protestor’s demands to reopen Rafah with one word: “Impossible.” The protestor viscerally reacts by asking “why not? The people are being starved.”
The exchange seems to encapsulate the tension that the Gaza crisis has caused in Egypt, where citizens who feel powerless to alleviate the suffering of their besieged Palestinian neighbours are disaffected by a regime unwilling to act in any meaningful way.
Leaked documents that were posted to the same Telegram channel revealed lists of individuals under Egypt’s infamous “security monitoring” programme, where released prisoners are required to regularly check in at police stations. A video explained that the group planned their operation to coincide with Friday prayers on July 25th in order to take advantage of the reduced security personnel.
Former detainees confirmed that there is considerable ease of access to the state security facility’s office on the fourth floor for routine check-ins, a gap that was exploited by the group to infiltrate and detain officials.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry promptly issued a statement that denied the authenticity of the videos, instead claiming that they were fabricated by the Muslim Brotherhood to manufacture civil unrest.
The ministry revealed that those involved In spreading the footage were arrested, yet it fell short of addressing the authenticity of the leaked documents. The reaction prompted a reaction from critics who accused the regime of being in denial and resorting to the dismissal of legitimate grievances as foreign plots.
Soon after, communication with the group that infiltrated the facility abruptly ceased, and all previous messages sent in the Telegram channel were deleted. This raised questions about whether Egyptian security forces took control of the channel, or its administrators had erased all the content.
Hours prior to the channel’s silence, it released an audio statement which claimed responsibility for the “Iron 17” operation.
The statement was attributed to Ahmed Abdel Wahab and Mohsen Mustafa. They denied any external political affiliations whilst committing to reviving Egypt’s national spirit. They described themselves as the “heirs of Omar ibn al-Khattab and Amr ibn al-Aas,” two early Islamic military and political leaders who represent strength, justice, and national re-awakening.
The core message of the statement was inherently clear: The government must put an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and stop repressing Egyptians. It also addressed the Egyptian people by lamenting the “severe blows” inflicted on the nation and swearing to revive it from its “death.”
The raid on the state security facility was not an isolated act. It came after activist Anas Habib sparked protests outside Egyptian embassies in European capitals by symbolically locking the gates of the embassy in the Netherlands to protest Rafah’s closure.
The infiltration of the Ma’asara facility, paired with the embassy protests, highlights mounting pressure on the Egyptian government which is already struggling to manage a domestic economic crisis and the social unrest that it brings.
Middle East Eye, Maghrebi.org, World Health Organisation, Oxfam, BBC, AP News
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