Thousands of workers and students across Italy staged a nationwide strike and mass demonstrations on Monday to protest Israel’s war in Gaza and show solidarity with Palestinians.
Grassroots unions organized the 24-hour walkout across public and private sectors, disrupting trains, buses, schools, and ports. National rail services saw long delays, while sit-ins slowed the flow of goods through Genoa and Livorno. In Rome, more than 20,000 people rallied outside the central station, denouncing what unions called «the inertia of the Italian and EU governments.»
The strike underscored growing pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a staunch Israeli ally, whose government has recently sharpened its tone on Israeli policy but stopped short of moves by France and others to recognize a Palestinian state at this week’s U.N. General Assembly.
The protests come as Gaza reels from nearly two years of conflict. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s offensive began, with about 90% of the enclave’s population displaced and famine spreading in parts of the territory.
