Massive Strikes Sweep Italy As Anger Mounts over Israel’s Interception of Gaza Aid Flotilla
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Hundreds of thousands of Italians flooded city streets in a nationwide strike on Friday, denouncing Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla and demanding an end to the “genocide” in Gaza.
More than two million people joined protests across Italy in solidarity with the flotilla, which carried 40 Italian nationals before being seized by Israeli naval forces earlier this week.
The country’s largest trade unions, including the CGIL, led the strike “to defend the flotilla” and to “stop the genocide,” according to a statement posted on X.
The mass mobilization paralyzed transport networks, halted public services, and shut down schools and hospitals nationwide, La Stampa reported. Demonstrators blocked highways near Pisa, Pescara, Bologna, and Milan, while access to the port of Livorno was closed.
In Milan, police estimated over 80,000 people gathered, waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners that read “Free Palestine” and “Stop the War Machine.”
“This is not just any strike,” CGIL leader Maurizio Landini told Reuters. “We’re here to defend brotherhood among peoples, to put humanity back at the centre, to say no to genocide and militarism.”
From Rome, Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic reported that the turnout included people “from all walks of life — students, retirees, families with small children.”
Organizers expect even larger protests in Rome on Saturday, with CGIL reporting 300,000 participants on Friday. “Today we were hundreds of thousands. Tomorrow, for Palestine, we must be a million,” said Maya Issa of the Palestinian Student Movement, cited by La Repubblica.
Andrea Dessi, an international relations scholar at the American University of Rome, told Al Jazeera that Italy’s right-wing government had been “caught on its back foot.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this week that Italy would recognize a Palestinian state only if Israeli captives were released and Hamas excluded from governance — a stance protesters condemned as conditional and cowardly.
“The pressure will continue to mount,” said Dessi. “We expect a massive march tomorrow, with citizens arriving from across Italy.”
Protesters demanded the immediate release of Italians detained by Israel, full recognition of a Palestinian state, and harsher sanctions on Tel Aviv for its assault on Gaza.
Italy’s foreign ministry later confirmed that four Italian parliamentarians had been freed by Israel, while 36 others remained detained.
Meloni dismissed the strike as a political stunt, suggesting protesters were “using it for a long weekend.”
The protests come amid global outrage over Israel’s seizure of the humanitarian convoy. Demonstrations erupted across Europe, Australia, and South America.
In Barcelona — where the flotilla set sail — about 15,000 people marched, chanting “Gaza, you are not alone” and “Boycott Israel.” Among those detained at sea were former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, and climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The flotilla organizers said on Telegram that Israeli naval forces had “illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels — each carrying aid, volunteers, and determination to break the illegal blockade on Gaza.” The final vessel, Marinette, was intercepted Friday morning.
Israeli forces detained more than 470 participants, including over 20 journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders. Reporters from Al Jazeera, El País, and Italy’s RAI were among those held.
Israel’s military boasted that it had “foiled a large-scale incursion attempt,” calling its blockade “lawful.”
Rights groups, UN experts, and multiple European politicians denounced the operation as piracy, saying Israel’s seizure of humanitarian vessels in international waters violated international law and underscored its ongoing siege of Gaza.
