Pressure mounts on Meloni’s gov’t as Gaza protests paralyse Italy

Hundreds of thousands of radical person taken to the streets crossed Italy arsenic portion of a wide onslaught successful solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla that was intercepted by Israel this week portion trying to bring assistance to Palestinians successful Gaza.

More than 2 cardinal radical attended Friday’s protests aft the onslaught was called by a fig of commercialized unions “in defence of the flotilla”, which was carrying a full of 40 Italians, and to “stop the genocide”, the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) wrote connected X.

Turin-based regular La Stampa reported that the mobilisation progressive the nationalist and backstage sectors, “halting rail, air, metro, and autobus transport, healthcare and schools. Among the galore acts of dissent, protesters blocked highways adjacent Pisa, Pescara, Bologna and Milan and unopen down entree to the larboard of Livorno, said the newspaper.

Police told the quality bureau AFP that much than 80,000 radical demonstrated successful Milan, wherever a oversea of radical clapped and waved the Palestinian emblem arsenic they made their mode done the streets, carrying a monolithic banner reading: “Free Palestine, Stop the War Machine”.

“This is not conscionable immoderate strike. We’re present contiguous to support brotherhood among individuals, among peoples, to enactment humanity backmost astatine the centre, to accidental nary to genocide, to a argumentation of rearmament,” CGIL person Maurizio Landini was cited by the Reuters quality bureau arsenic saying.

Reporting from Rome, Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic said the turnout crossed the state included “so galore radical from assorted walks of life. You’ve got students, you’ve got retired people, galore radical with their tiny children besides coming out”.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathering successful Rome for the nationalist wide onslaught called by antithetic unions to protestation against the concern successful Gaza, connected October 3, 2025 [Alessandra Tarantino/AP]

Major turnout expected successful Rome connected Saturday

Massive protests are planned for time successful Rome, wherever the CGIL reported 300,000 participants connected Friday, with crowds acceptable to depart from the municipality square, Piazzale Ostiense, astatine 2:30pm (12:30 GMT).

“Today, we were hundreds of thousands. Tomorrow for Palestine we indispensable beryllium a million,” said Maya Issa, person of the Palestinian Student Movement, cited by Rome-based regular La Repubblica.

Andrea Dessi, an adjunct prof of planetary relations and planetary authorities astatine the American University of Rome, told Al Jazeera that the Italian authorities had been “caught connected its backmost foot”.

While Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this week announced Italy would recognise a Palestinian authorities if Israeli captives were freed and Hamas was unopen retired of aboriginal governance, protesters believed Meloni’s enactment for a Palestinian authorities should person been unconditional, Dessi said.

“I judge that the unit volition proceed to mount,” said Dessi. “We expect a major, large march tomorrow, Saturday, present successful Rome, with activists and members, citizens coming to Rome from each of Italy,” helium said.

Their demands see the merchandise of remaining Italians from the Sumud Flotilla, unconditional enactment for a Palestinian authorities and “more superior sanctions” connected Israel implicit its warfare connected Gaza, helium said.

Al Jazeera’s Veselinovic said that Italy’s right-wing authorities was improbable to succumb to pressure. “That is astir apt improbable to happen, considering that Italy is simply a large state of Israel successful the European Union. However, successful the past fewer months, the authorities did follow a somewhat harsher code towards Israeli officials, specifically due to the fact that of actions similar this protest,” she said.

The Italian authorities has criticised the strike, with Meloni suggesting that radical were utilizing the protests arsenic an excuse to person a longer play break.

As the protests took place, Italy’s overseas ministry announced that Israel had released 4 Italian parliamentarians retired of the 40 Italians detained from the flotilla. The 2 members of parliament and 2 members of the European Parliament were owed to get backmost successful Rome connected Friday, the ministry said.

Worldwide reaction

Protests successful solidarity with the humanitarian convoy, which included salient figures similar clime activistic Greta Thunberg and a fig of politicians, dispersed across continents connected Thursday, from Europe to Australia and South America.

In Barcelona, wherever the flotilla began its voyage, astir 15,000 demonstrators marched, chanting “Gaza, you are not alone,” “Boycott Israel,” and “Freedom for Palestine”. Former Barcelona politician Ada Colau was among those intercepted astatine oversea and present faces imaginable deportation on with chap activists, including Nelson Mandela’s grandson.

The flotilla organisers said connected Telegram connected Friday that Israeli naval forces had “illegally intercepted each 42 of our vessels – each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to interruption Israel’s amerciable siege connected Gaza”. Marinette, the past remaining boat, was intercepted astatine 10:29am (07:29 GMT) that morning, they said.

More than 470 flotilla participants were “taken into custody by the subject police, subjected to rigorous screening, and transferred to the situation administration”, according to Israeli constabulary cited by AFP.

Among those detained from the flotilla were much than 20 journalists, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), including reporters from Al Jazeera, Spain’s El Pais and Italy’s nationalist broadcaster RAI.

Israel’s subject applauded its naval forces for intercepting the flotilla, claiming the humanitarian ngo attempted to breach its “maritime information blockade”.

“During Yom Kippur, successful an cognition that lasted astir 12 hours, Israeli Navy unit foiled a large-scale incursion effort by hundreds of individuals aboard 42 naval vessels that declared their volition to interruption the lawful maritime information blockade adjacent to the Gaza Strip,” the subject connection said.

Rights groups, respective politicians and the UN’s Francesca Albanese person suggested Israel’s interception of the flotilla’s boats was illegal.

Protests successful Israel

In Israel connected Friday, protesters blocked a way into Gaza, staging a sit-in demanding that assistance seized from the flotilla beryllium allowed to participate the Palestinian territory. Dozens of protesters besides tried to halt soldiers from entering the Strip, immoderate carrying banners calling for an extremity to the genocide and for sanctions to beryllium imposed connected Israel.

Reporting from Amman, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said, “These are Israeli bid activists who accidental that they are not portion of immoderate larger organisation, but from branches of antithetic organisations coming from each walks of beingness successful solidarity with the … flotilla.”

Salhut reported that “more than 40 vessels” seized by the Israeli Navy were present sitting successful the larboard of Ashdod, conscionable northbound of the Gaza Strip.

“What these demonstrators are saying is that this flotilla should person been allowed to spell to the Gaza Strip, but that the siege connected the Palestinian territory needs to extremity and determination needs to beryllium different ways of ensuring that happens, whether it’s by air, land, oregon sea,” she said.