RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei is visiting the Gaza Strip as part of a documentary he is making about Middle East refugees.

The activist crossed into Gaza through Israel with a crew of 10 people on Tuesday.

The film will highlight the plight of millions of Syrians who fled the civil war in their home to neighboring countries or took perilous voyages in boats to Europe. 

On Wednesday, Ai said he is including the Palestinian refugees in the film because they constitute "the longest history" of displacement and their numbers — several millions — complicate any settlement of their cause.

Ai's crew has worked on the documentary in Jordan, Turkey, Greece and several other countries that have hosted Syrian refugees.