Activist Louis Allan, currently on a six-day hunger strike for Gaza while perched in an olive tree in Engomi, was reportedly attacked for a second time during the night by three masked individuals.
“Last night three people approached us and started throwing eggs at both me and friends standing by,” Allan told the Cyprus Mail.
The incident reportedly happened at around 1am on Wednesday. Police arrived shortly after, but the assailants had already left.
While no injuries were reported, witnesses have described the attack as clearly intended to intimidate.
This marks the second reported attack against Allan.
On Tuesday afternoon, he said two young men speaking in Hebrew approached him – with one of them, recorded in a video submitted to the Cyprus Mail, shouting “I am a Zionist” in English.
Tuesday’s video, recorded by Allan himself, captures the moment one of the individuals shouts the phrase up at him before walking away. While neither of the encounters turned physical, Allan said he viewed them as hostile.
He added that was not able to see the faces of the three individuals on Wednesday.
Allan, who began his hunger strike on Monday, has remained in the tree as part of a protest aimed at raising awareness for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, drinking only two litres of water a day – the exact amount currently available to people in the warzone.
His action has drawn both public attention and confrontation. This latest incident marks an escalation in the hostility he has reportedly faced since beginning his protest that he has repeatedly emphasised as aiming to be ‘peaceful’.
Gaza is facing the complete collapse of humanitarian access, with no aid currently entering the territory. Four days ago, an aid ship bound for Gaza was bombed in Malta, with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the mission, blaming Israel for the attack on what they described as an unarmed civilian vessel in international waters. The United Nations has said that a “worst-case scenario” is now unfolding in Gaza, as food, water, and medical supplies run out.
28-year-old Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda, who shares daily updates from Gaza with her 4.8 million Instagram followers, said in a video published on Monday that conditions in the enclave have become increasingly dire.
“It has been almost 70 days since Israel decided to prevent any food or aid or any products from entering Gaza,” she said. “Our shops are empty, our supermarkets are empty – there is no food.”
Those curious can follow Louis’ Instagram @move_with_louis where he is livestreaming his protest several times a day.
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