Local public transport, railways, schools, public services, ports affected by general strike
ROME — Italy on Monday is experiencing a general strike over the situation in Gaza, which affects many sectors, including transportation, schools, and public services, news agency ANSA reported.
Workers across Italy went on strike following calls from grassroots trade unions to protest the situation in Gaza, with demonstrations held in several cities, including Genoa, Livorno, Milan, Rome, and Bologna.
The general strike, which began at midnight and continues till late Monday, is disrupting multiple sectors, particularly local public transport and railways, schools, public services, and ports.
The USB union called for “the immediate break-off of relations with the terrorist state of Israel, which is the concrete way in which Italy can, and must, react to the genocide that is taking place.”
Protesters disrupted ports in Genoa and Livorno, blocked university lecture halls in Bologna, marched in Milan to show support for a Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, while triggering train cancellations in Rome and the closure of Milan’s M4 metro line as part of nationwide strikes.
“In Italy, the general strike has shut down train lines, ports, highways, schools & shops. With a genocide ongoing, there can be NO business as usual. Stay peaceful, everyone. Do not react to any provocation. Freedom for all allows no mistakes,” the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, also said through the US social media company X.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been carrying out a genocide in Gaza, which has so far killed nearly 65,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children. — Anadolu Agency
