ROME (Reuters) -Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organisers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilise individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilise, then nothing will change”.
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organisers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas militants staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel’s offensive has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and exposed Israel to accusations of genocide which the country has strongly rejected.
(Reporting by Gavin Jones, writing by Alvise Armellini, editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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