Protests, Strikes Sweep Italy in Support of Gaza Flotilla

AFP/APP

Rome: More than 200,000 people across Italy staged protests and strikes on Friday in solidarity with the Gaza aid flotilla, causing widespread disruption to transport and commercial activities.

The demonstrations, organized by the USB and CGIL unions, came in response to the treatment of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which had attempted to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. The United Nations has repeatedly warned of famine conditions in the enclave after nearly two years of war.

In Rome, at least 80,000 demonstrators gathered near Termini train station, where services were cancelled or delayed. Many carried Palestinian flags and banners reading, “Free Palestine, Stop the War Machine.” On Thursday, 10,000 people had already marched from the Colosseum, part of a wave of global solidarity rallies.

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“It’s our civic duty to show how angry and unhappy we are with what is happening in Gaza, and to support the flotilla and the Palestinians,” said Giordano Fioramonti, 19, among the students and professors marching in the capital.

Across the country, major cities witnessed massive turnouts: 80,000 in Milan, 50,000 in Turin, 40,000 in Genoa, and 10,000 blocking the port of Naples, according to organisers. In Milan, police used smoke bombs to disperse protesters who briefly occupied a ring road.

Transport networks were hit hard. National rail operator Trenitalia warned the strike would last until 8:59 pm Friday, leaving “one million Italians stranded on trains alone,” Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said. Protesters also occupied train stations in Perugia and Cagliari, while Bologna saw demonstrators block part of the motorway that circles the city — a key artery linking southern and northern Italy.

Commercial traffic was halted at the port of Livorno, while marches and flashmobs were reported from Turin and Trento in the north to Bari and Palermo in the south.

The rallies echoed the central demand resonating across Italy: “Stop the war, lift the blockade, free Palestine.”