ROME – Italy came to a standstill on Monday as a 24-hour general strike and massive protests swept through over 75 cities, uniting workers, students, and activists in a powerful call for solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Organized by grassroots unions like the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), the “Blocchiamo tutto” (“Let’s Block Everything”) action disrupted schools, trains, buses, and highways, while dockworkers blockaded ports in Genoa and Livorno to halt potential arms shipments to Israel. Tens of thousands marched with Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine!” and condemning the “genocide” in Gaza, where over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s offensive began nearly two years ago. Source
In Rome, over 20,000 demonstrators flooded Termini station, brandishing banners like “Against Genocide: Let’s Block Everything” and halting rail traffic to protest the humanitarian crisis. Source In Milan, clashes erupted as protesters stormed the central station, shattering windows and burning a U.S. flag, resulting in about 60 injured officers and over 10 arrests. Source Turin, Naples, Florence, Bari, and Palermo saw similar protests, with crowds rallying against the blockade of aid and threats to the Global Sumud Flotilla, a 60-boat mission delivering supplies to Gaza. Source
The strikes demanded an immediate ceasefire, suspension of Italy’s military and trade ties with Israel, and formal recognition of a Palestinian state—demands amplified by France’s recent UN announcement alongside Belgium, Malta, and Luxembourg. Italy’s government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has resisted, calling unilateral recognition “counterproductive” without a broader peace process. Source Meloni condemned Milan’s violence as “shameful hooliganism,” but protesters like 17-year-old Michelangelo in Rome, who joined to support “a population being exterminated,” see the unrest as a stand against government inaction. Source
Social media erupted with videos of port blockades in Genoa and student marches in Bologna, framing the strike as a “flood” against complicity in Gaza’s famine and destruction. Source A Genoa dockworker told reporters, “The Palestinian people teach us dignity and resistance.” Source With Italy’s protests exposing a rift against Meloni’s pro-Israel stance, the movement may pressure Rome to reconsider its position on Palestine. Source
