Gaza's suffering is Israel's shame

Mass demonstrations were held outside the UN building, the Journalist's Syndicate and about 300 French citizens camped for three days outside the French Embassy, surrounded by hundreds of Egyptian riot police. One of their leaders told me one night, as we snaked past sleeping bags, tents, mattresses and aching bodies, that, "we are only sacrificing our comfort while the people of Gaza have been suffering for years".

A small Australian delegation was granted a meeting with the Australian ambassador, Stephanie Shwabsky, who said she found the situation "utterly tragic", but could only pledge to push the tired, unworkable formulas offered by the Rudd Government and the Obama Administration.

On the last day of the GFM, after a handful of delegates were granted entry to Gaza, about 500 protested in Cairo's central Tahir square. The state's security forces dragged, kicked, punched and groped a number of us, causing a few broken ribs and bloody noses, but we stood firm for about five hours.

Participants wore T-shirts with the words, "The audacity of war crimes", "Boycott Israel" and "Free Gaza", the sheer range of countries represented and the backgrounds of those present reflecting the internationalisation of the Middle East conflict.