Overview

• Tens of thousands joined coordinated demonstrations in dozens of cities, with about 20,000 at Rome’s Termini station, 50,000 claimed by organizers in Milan, and more than 10,000 counted by police in Bologna.
• Grassroots unions, including USB, called a 24-hour general strike under the banner “Let’s Block Everything,” disrupting local transport, closing some schools and universities, and prompting national rail warnings of delays and cancellations.
• Dockworkers in Genoa and Livorno blockaded port entrances and pledged to impede shipments to Israel, with actions framed in support of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
• Clashes broke out in Milan’s central station as police used tear gas and pepper spray, and water cannons were deployed against road blockades in Bologna and protests in Venice, with reports of broken windows and projectiles.
• The protests coincided with fresh recognitions of Palestinian statehood by countries such as the UK, Australia, Canada, Portugal and France at the UN, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned violent incidents and maintained Italy’s refusal to recognize Palestine for now.