Hedy Epstein, the 85-year old Holocaust survivor and peace activist from St. Louis, MO, announced Monday that she was beginning a hunger strike in response to the Egyptian government's refusal to allow the Gaza Freedom March participants into the Strip.
Epstein is part of a delegation with participants from 43 countries that were to join Palestinians in a march from northern Gaza towards the Erez border crossing calling for an end to what she termed was the "siege" of Gaza.
Egypt is preventing the marchers from leaving Cairo.
Epstein said she would remain outside the UN building at the World Trade Center in Cairo accompanied by several other hunger strikers.
"It is important to let the besieged Gazan people know they are not alone," she said. "I want to tell the people I meet in Gaza that I am a representative of many people in my city and in other places in the US who are outraged at what the US, Israeli and European governments are doing to the Palestinians and that our numbers are growing."