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Thousands protested across Europe after Israel intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza. Demonstrations erupted in Rome, Barcelona, Paris, Brussels, and Kuala Lumpur
The 41 ships with more than 400 people includes politicians, pro-Palestinian activists, and humanitarian workers, among them Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. (Photo: Israel Foreign Ministry/Reuters)
Thousands of people staged protests across Europe against Israel’s interception of a flotilla that was carrying aid for Palestinians in Gaza, urging greater sanctions from European governments.
On Wednesday, Israel detained 22 Italian nationals who were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a group of around 45 vessels attempting to break the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza.
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The 41 ships with more than 400 people includes politicians, pro-Palestinian activists, and humanitarian workers, among them Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Two Italian members of parliament and two Italian members of the European Parliament were also on board.
Israel’s navy began intercepting the boats on Wednesday, warning they were entering waters under its blockade.
Following this, protests broke out in Rome and Naples in support of the flotilla. Trade unions have announced a general strike on Friday, accusing Israel of violating international law. “It is time to block everything,” said the USB union in a statement.
According to a report by Al-Monitor, some 15,000 people marched through Barcelona in protest at Israel’s actions, according to the municipal police force in Spain’s second city, chanting slogans including “Gaza, you are not alone”, “Boycott Israel” and “Freedom for Palestine”.
The riot police took action against some of the protesters who attempted to climb over barriers.
The main unions have called a general strike on Friday to support the flotilla passengers and urge Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to defend the activists.
“We are prepared to block everything. The genocidal machine must stop immediately,” the demonstrators chanted.
AFP quoted one of the protesters, 76-year-old Gianfranco Pagliarulo, as saying that Meloni had not done enough to deter Israel.
“Instead of defending the victims, the government is defending the aggressors, and it’s absolutely intolerable,” he said.
Local officials said that around 10,000 people took part in the protest in Spain’s Madrid. Similar protests were held in other Spanish cities Thursday night including Bilbao, Seville and Valencia.
According to a report by AFP, around a thousand people marched in Paris’s Place de la Republique while in the port city of Marseille, in southern France, around a hundred pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in the afternoon after attempting to block access to offices of weapons maker Eurolinks, accused of selling military components to Israel.
Besides, 3,000 protesters took to the front of the European Parliament building in Brussels, with one banner urging the EU to “break the siege” as smoke bombs and crackers were set off in the crowd.
“The message is that each boat must be protected,” a protester named Isis told AFPTV while urging the European Union’s leadership to halt the “astronomical sums of money sent to Israel”.
Protests were also held at the Swiss city’s Mont Blanc bridge, at the end of Lake Geneva, and Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, in front of the embassy of the United States.
Italy
October 03, 2025, 03:26 IST
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