It is difficult to estimate exact numbers on such an intense day of mobilisation for Palestine. It was a real mass event bringing together at last people from different generations. What is certain is that for years we have not seen such a flood of workers, together with students, pouring into major Italian cities such as Naples, Milan, Bologna, Turin, Brescia, Florence, Palermo, and Catania, as well as in another seventy or so cities.

The general strike called by the grassroots unions was not only successful, but exceeded expectations. Port gates were blocked in Genoa, Livorno, Marghera, Trieste, and Salerno. In Bologna, the ring road was occupied, while in Florence, the highway to Pisa and Livorno was blocked. The marches, on the other hand, multiplied throughout the day, and even in the evening, the streets of numerous cities were filled with new actions and blockades.

In reality, the level of participation is only surprising up to a point. Mobilisations against the genocide in Gaza and in support of the Palestinian people have grown over the last year to involve broad sectors beyond the usual left audience. For example we had seen this in the demonstration on June 21 in Rome. Furthermore, very broadly based campaigns have also grown over the course of the year, despite the fragmentation that has often characterized them.

The Global Sumud Flotilla initiative has undoubtedly acted as a unifying force, broadening participation to large sections of the population, as well as workers. From the end of August and early September, initiatives in support of the “flotilla” multiplied, as did indignation against the policy of genocide and ethnic cleansing. There has been growing outrage against the Meloni government, which continues to maintain commercial and military relations with Israel and is increasingly subservient to the strategic choices of Trump and NATO.

Banner reads: Teachers are marching against war and genocide.

Meanwhile, the call for a general strike has grown in many workplaces, and there is a greater willingness to mobilise in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Grassroots trade unionism, which has always mobilised in support of the Palestinian people and against the genocide in Gaza, has supported called for a general strike, which was already in the minds of many workers. It is no coincidence that many CGIL members went on strike, particularly in schools, but not only there.

The CGIL, the main trade union confederation which is close to the PD (Democratic Party), however, missed an opportunity. Instead of supporting the large mobilisations and the general strike, it decided to plough its own furrow, building its own initiatives completely separate from the ongoing mobilization. Yet, significant associations such as ARCI (cultural) and ANPI (partisan veterans), other associations and NGOs supporting the Global Sumud Flotilla had decided to join the general strike.

Today’s general strike, while it did not bring all of Italy to a standstill, is a key moment for the building of a large movement in support of Gaza and the Palestinian people, as well as against the imperialist, war policies of Western governments and the Italian government. It also raises the question of developing European mobilizations and the need for a European general strike against governments complicit in genocide and advocates of rearmament.