ROME

Pro-Palestinian activists on Tuesday staged a protest at the Port of Genoa, northern Italy in protest of arms shipments to Israel.

Protesters, including civil society groups and dockers union, blockaded the port early Tuesday in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Over 500 protesters prevented the passage of trucks carrying containers to be loaded on ships, the Italian state news agency ANSA reported.

The crowd criticized the arms supply to Israel and opined that the Port of Genoa is a transit point for weapons, used in the "massacre" of the Palestinians.

A group, named "giovanipalestinesi" (Young Palestinians) wrote on Instagram that containers arriving at the Port were blocked at 6 a.m. local time (0400GMT) Tuesday morning.

It added: "We know very well that the war machine starts from the logistics that send weapons, ammunition and technology that caused the genocide of our people."

Israel has killed more than 37,600 Palestinians since the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border incursion by Hamas that claimed 1,200 lives. The onslaught has reduced the territory to rubble and led to conditions of famine.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack last year by Hamas.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.​​​​​​​