Egypt

Egyptian fans wave a Palestinian flag while watching their team play against Argentina at the 2026 World Cup, Luxor, Egypt, July 7, 2026. (Essam El-Amari)

The World Cup tested the limits of Egypt’s pro-Palestine solidarity

Coach Hossam Hassan and his team have become a vehicle for expressing a popular sentiment that is either repressed or carefully contained at home.

By Shaimaa Ahmed July 17, 2026

Palestinian football fans in Gaza City gather in the Al-Rimal area to watch the match between Egypt and Australia for a place in the round of 16 in the 2026 World Football Cup, 3 July 2026. (Omar Al-Qataa/Activestills)

‘They celebrate goals, we count martyrs’: Watching the World Cup in Gaza

Palestinians are defying Israeli bombings and power outages to follow soccer’s biggest tournament. But many fear the world has abandoned them.

By Ibtisam Mahdi July 8, 2026

Iyad Nassar, Menna Shalabi, and director Peter Mimi on the set of Sohab Al-Ard in Egypt, February 2026. (Courtesy of United Media Services)

Israel lambasted this Ramadan TV drama. Reception in Gaza has been mixed

‘Sohab Al-Ard’ has brought the genocide in Gaza to millions of living rooms across the Arab world. But does it achieve what it set out to?

By Shimaa Elyoussef March 17, 2026

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Freed Palestinian prisoners exiled to Egypt stand in front of the Arab League Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, December 2025. From left to right: Raed Abdul Jalil, Rami Nour, Kamil Abu Hanish, Ammar Al-Zaben. (Courtesy)

Released into exile, Palestinian prisoners navigate freedom on Israel’s terms

Over 150 men who spent decades behind bars were deported to Egypt in the Gaza ceasefire deal, where they face a reality of ‘permanent alienation.’

By Shimaa Elyoussef February 9, 2026

Mohamad Saleh at his apartment in Cairo, in a still from 'Severed.' (Courtesy)

In ‘Severed,’ a Palestinian child pieces together the shattered fragments of his life

At 18, Mohamad Saleh has survived five wars on Gaza, lost his leg to an Israeli sniper, and endured several additional surgeries. My new film tells his story.

By Jen Marlowe May 22, 2025

A large billboard posted by the Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv, in support of U.S. President Donald Trump, Feb. 5, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The damage of Trump’s Gaza plan has already been done

The proposal to cleanse Gaza of Palestinians tapped into a deep undercurrent in Israeli society — endangering any chance for a peaceful future in the region.

By Meron Rapoport February 7, 2025

Palestinians who fled their homes wait at the Rafah border crossing to Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 14, 2023. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

In Egypt, Gazans endure ‘unbearable’ life with little support

Over 100,000 Palestinians have fled to Egypt during the war. Feeling stranded by the state and the PA, they describe a precarious existence in legal limbo.

By Hadi Rami November 22, 2024

Palestinian workers at the Erez crossing in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, waiting to enter Israel for work, March 13, 2022. (Attia Muhammed/Flash90 )

Strangled by Israel for decades, Gaza’s future must begin with free movement

Israel persistently shirks responsibility for Gaza despite subjecting it to closures, permits, and assaults. Returning to those policies is not an option.

By Noa Galili March 10, 2024

Israeli soldiers seen near the Gaza fence, southern Israel, January 7, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Laying the groundwork for Gaza’s permanent exodus

With Egypt reportedly preparing for an influx of refugees and UNRWA on the brink of collapse, Israel’s second Nakba fantasies could soon become reality.

By Samer Badawi February 19, 2024

Palestinians with foreign passports leave Gaza to Egypt via the Rafah Crossing, southern Gaza Strip, February 6, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

‘We try every day to escape’: Palestinians struggle to afford Gaza exit fees

With private brokers charging thousands of dollars to coordinate passage through Rafah Crossing, most Gazans are being priced out of safety.

By Ruwaida Amer February 8, 2024

Israeli soldiers during the First Intifada, in the Gaza Strip, 1987. (Efi Sharir/Dan Hadani Collection, The Pritzker Family National Photography Collection, The National Library of Israel)

Why is Gaza so central to the Palestinian struggle?

The history of Gaza illuminates how the tiny enclave has long encapsulated Palestinian identity — and why it is now the focal point of a regional crisis.

By Anne Irfan January 2, 2024

(Left to Right) Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk, Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmed, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Fatah official Ahmed Bahar attend a meeting in Gaza City, April 22, 2014. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Israeli arrogance thwarted a Palestinian political path. October 7 revealed the cost

A Fatah-Hamas agreement in 2021 offered a different political horizon. But success blinded Israel — just as it did before the 1973 war.

By Menachem Klein November 28, 2023

Palestinians who fled their homes wait at the Rafah border crossing to Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip, October 14, 2023. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

‘My children tell me to pray for them’: The Gazans stranded in Egypt

Thousands of Gaza residents have been stuck on the other side of the border crossing since Oct. 7, unable to return and sick with worry for their families.

By Ruwaida Amer October 31, 2023