Over Gaza conflict
\nAbout 200,000 rally at Rome\u2019s Termini station, students chant \u201cFree Palestine!\u201d and wave Palestinian flags
\n rome
\nTens of thousands of people protested on Monday across Italy as part of a day of action to \u201cdenounce the genocide in Gaza\u201d, which included transport strikes and port blockades.
\nThe demonstrations came the same day as France and other countries prepared to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, following recognition by the UK, Australia and Canada on Sunday.
\nItaly\u2019s hard-right government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said it will not recognise a Palestinian state for now.
\nIn Rome, some 20,0000 people gathered in front of the main Termini train station, according to local police, many of them students, shouting \u201cFree Palestine!\u201d and holding up Palestinian flags.
\nSome had marched via the Colosseum, those at the front holding up a giant banner saying \u201cAgainst Genocide. Let\u2019s block everything.\u201d
\nAt Termini station, Michelangelo, 17, told AFP he was there to support \u201ca population that is being exterminated\u201d.
\nFrancesca Tecchia, 18, was protesting \u201cfor the first time\u201d, because \u201cwhat is happening (in Gaza) is too important\u201d, she said.
\n\u201cItaly must come to a standstill today,\u201d said Federica Casino, a 52-year-old worker protesting with the students for Gaza\u2019s \u201cdead children and destroyed hospitals\u201d.
\n\u201cItaly talks but does nothing,\u201d she said.
\nIn the northern city of Milan, where organisers said 50,000 people turned out, protesters burned a US flag, an AFP reporter saw.
\nIn Bologna, more than 10,000 took to the streets, according to local police, while protesters also took place in Turin, Florence, Naples and Sicily.
\nIn Genoa and Livorno, dock workers blockaded port entrances, according to Italian media.
\nStrike action disrupted local buses and the metro service in Rome, while national train operators also warned of delays and cancellations.
\nMeloni\u2019s government, which is ideologically close to US President Donald Trump, has condemned Israel\u2019s relentless assault on the besieged Palestinian territory.
\nIt says it had not sold any Italian weapons to Israel since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas inside Israel.
\nBut it has said it will not for now recognise a Palestinian state and has also expressed reluctance about implementing the European Union\u2019s proposed trade sanctions on Israel.
\nAccording to a recent survey by polling company Only Numbers, published by La Stampa newspaper, almost 64 percent of Italians consider the humanitarian situation in Gaza \u201cvery serious\u201d and almost 41 percent want Italy to recognise a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over Gaza conflict About 200,000 rally at Rome\u2019s Termini station, students chant \u201cFree Palestine!\u201d and wave Palestinian flags rome Tens of thousands of people protested on Monday across Italy as part of a day of action to \u201cdenounce the genocide in Gaza\u201d, which included transport strikes and port blockades. The demonstrations came the same day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-504485","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n