Italy’s grassroots unions, which represent hundreds of thousands of people ranging from schoolteachers to metalworkers, called for a 24-hour general strike in both public and private sectors, including public transportation, trains, schools and ports.

The strike caused disruptions across the country, with long delays for national trains and limited public transport in major cities, including Rome

In Milan, tension escalated when dozens of protesters dressed in black and armed with batons tried to smash the main entrance of the city’s central train station, throwing smoke bombs, bottles and stones at police, who responded with pepper spray. In Bologna, police used water cannons to disperse a crowd of demonstrators who blocked a highway.

The transit of goods was slowed or partially blocked by workers’ sit-ins and rallies in Italy’s main ports of Genoa and Livorno. More than 20,000 people gathered in front of Rome’s central station to protest the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.