Italy's Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) trade union declared a nationwide general strike on Wednesday, which is scheduled for October 3, following reports that the Gaza-bound aid flotilla, the Global Sumund Fleet, is being raided to halt its progress.

The union, accusing "Israel" of violating international law, acted upon its earlier pledge to halt work if the convoy was targeted. The group issued a call for immediate mobilizations "in all squares" to take place before the strike begins.

AGGREDITA LA GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA

3 OTTOBRE SCIOPERO GENERALE

ISRAELE ATTACCA IL DIRITTO INTERNAZIONALE. ORA È IL MOMENTO DI BLOCCARE TUTTO.
IL 3 OTTOBRE SCIOPERO GENERALE
A PARTIRE DA SUBITO MOBILITAZIONI IN TUTTE LE PIAZZE pic.twitter.com/e5RvOclZvh

— USB Sindacato (@usbsindacato) October 1, 2025

On Friday, Italy's largest trade union, the CGIL, also declared that it would call a general strike should the humanitarian flotilla to Gaza be blocked or attacked.

On October 1, the Global Sumud Flotilla issued a statement accusing Israeli occupation forces of carrying out an "illegal interception and act of piracy" against its aid ships bound for Gaza, while stressing that its destination was the besieged enclave and not Israeli ports, contrary to Israeli claims.

According to the statement, onboard cameras were disabled before Israeli soldiers boarded several ships and ordered the flotilla to divert toward the port of Isdud under the pretext of inspecting humanitarian supplies.

Israeli media outlets, citing claims that the vessels were being redirected to Isdud, reported that naval forces raided multiple boats and seized the vessels Alma and Sirius while also detaining the participants on board.

In a video circulating online, #ThiagoAvila, a member of the #GlobalSumudFlotilla, is heard as he confronts the Israeli occupation naval forces, invoking international law and demanding they not commit another war crime against a peaceful humanitarian mission to #Gaza. pic.twitter.com/osHfYYk9uG

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 1, 2025

'Israel' faces global outrage over interception

Arab and international leaders have issued strong condemnations of the Israeli occupation forces' assault on the Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian mission that set sail to break the blockade on Gaza and deliver aid.

Bolivian President Luis Arce, condemning the attack as a "violent act" and a "flagrant violation of international law and an affront to human dignity," urged the global community, multilateral organizations, and the "free peoples of the world" to mobilize against what he described as a "new brutality" by the Netanyahu government.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, also accusing "Israel" of committing a "new international crime," stressed that activists, including Greta Thunberg and her companions, were detained unlawfully in international waters.

Expressing "grave concern" over the attack and warning that it violated the freedom of navigation guaranteed under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Chile called for strict adherence to international humanitarian law and demanded guarantees for the safety of the volunteers and crew members.

Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the assault, labeling it a “cowardly act of piracy” and part of a deliberate policy of extermination through starvation, while reiterating that Zionism represents a colonial, apartheid ideology and affirming its unwavering solidarity with Palestine.

In Tunisia, Workers’ Party Secretary-General Hamma Hammami characterized the flotilla assault as "a crime that started in Tunisia," while calling for increased public pressure against the occupation and more robust union actions to criminalize normalization.

The Algerian Coordination for the Support of the Palestinian People, urging its government to take urgent measures in response to the attack, was joined by Ansar Allah in Yemen, which condemned the raid and warned that the silence of the international community only encourages further crimes.