Overview

• Italy’s largest union, CGIL, led a one-day general strike on Friday with rallies in more than 100 cities, and organisers reported over two million participants and widespread service disruptions.
• Dockworkers in Livorno refused to unload an Israeli-owned container ship, and port unions say similar actions to block suspected arms shipments are continuing in multiple ports.
• Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud aid flotilla earlier in the week and detained hundreds of activists, including Italians, an episode that helped galvanise the mobilisation.
• Demonstrations were largely peaceful, with brief clashes reported in cities including Milan, Turin, Bologna and Naples after attempts to block traffic routes.
• Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the strike as politically motivated and called the flotilla dangerous, while opposition parties and rights groups urged an arms embargo and recognition of a Palestinian state.