42 boats. 462 people from more than 40 countries, carrying aid and supplies to the people in Gaza. Sailing in defiance of the Israeli blockade. Sailing against the genocide. 

They sailed for weeks to reach the coast of Gaza. And just days before, on the evening of October 1, Israeli forces began attacking the international aid convoy near the Palestinian coast. Israeli soldiers boarded ships. They kidnapped and detained the passengers. 462 people. The members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest civilian-led convoy like this in history. 

This story could have ended there. But instead, people across the planet responded. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets. They marched in cities across Europe. Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, London, Dublin, Berlin and Milan. Marches spilled across Rome for four days in a row. People protested at the Hague, in Sydney, Istanbul, Brasilia, and Buenos Aires.

They demanded respect and safety for the flotilla passengers kidnapped and detained by Israeli forces. They demanded an end to the violence in Gaza. An end to their country’s complicity in the genocide in Palestine.

On the streets, they wave Palestinian flags. They wear keffiyehs. They chant:  “We are all Palestinians,” “Free Palestine,” “Stop the genocide.”

In Italy, dock workers went on strike. It came on the heels of a general strike for Palestine led by Italian workers the week before, and in which half a million people participated across the country. 

These are not the actions of small groups of so-called radicals or terrorists, as people like US President Donald Trump might have you believe. These are the actions of everyday hard working people across the planet. And they’re standing up for others abroad. They’re standing up for mothers and fathers. Brothers and sisters. Families in Gaza who are being starved and massacred by the Israeli military.

Madrid metalworkers have now called for an indefinite general strike in support of Palestine to begin this week. Dock workers in numerous Italian cities have refused to load or offload any products on ships from Israel. “As workers, we understand that we are loading and unloading Israeli products and weapons from these ships,” said one dock worker in Livorno, Italy. “So we could not remain silent any more. We could not just keep doing our job with indifference.”

This is a story where international solidarity and resistance meet and intertwine, and spin and cycle and stand up loud and defiant, creating waves that echo and reverberate far beyond our communities, our cities. our countries. They have an impact across the planet. Or so millions of people hope.

This is a story of international solidarity. This is a story of resistance.

More than a hundred people who were kidnapped by Israeli forces have now been released and deported. Many are still detained. There are reports that they have been beaten, tortured, and that Israeli officials have withheld medicine from those who need it. Protests are expected to continue. There is a new flotilla of 11 boats on its way to Gaza right now. It left Italy two days ago.

Hi, everyone. I’m your host, Michael Fox. Thanks for listening.

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This is the latest episode of Stories of Resistance, a podcast series produced by The Real News. Each week, I bring you stories of resistance and hope like this. Inspiration for dark times. If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review.

Thanks for listening. See you next time.