Italy Hangs 50,000 White Shrouds in National Protest Against Gaza Massacre
Rome (Quds News Network)- Several Italian municipalities launched a national solidarity campaign with Gaza on Saturday, denouncing Israeli massacres that have left over 176,000 Palestinians dead or injured — most of them women and children.
The campaign features the display of 50,000 white shrouds on balconies and windows across the country. These sheets symbolize the burial shrouds of Palestinian victims. The initiative began with a group of Italian academics and civil society figures and quickly spread to towns and cities across Italy.
In Milan, officials displayed a large white shroud on the façade of Palazzo Marino, the city’s town hall, under the banner “A Shroud for Gaza.” The aim was to prompt reflection and awaken public consciousness around the ongoing genocide in the besieged enclave.
Municipalities called on citizens to hang white sheets from windows and balconies as a quiet yet powerful protest against the killing of civilians. Many local governments described the act as a symbolic call for a ceasefire and the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors.
In official statements, several mayors said the white sheets honor the tens of thousands of lives lost in Gaza — not only from airstrikes but also from starvation and lack of medical care. Municipalities urged citizens to post photos of their white sheets on social media using the hashtags #LastDayInGaza, #CeasefireNow, and #50KShrouds.
“The atrocities in Gaza are visible to everyone. This is genocide. It is unacceptable,” said Bari Mayor Vito Leccese. “Gaza today reflects the death of every principle of humanity.”
From the city of Rho to Ronchi Valsugana, officials echoed a common message: “These shrouds are for those the world never saw alive. They offer a final act of dignity, a form of resistance through memory.”
In Ronchi Valsugana, officials declared: “We want to fill every street, window, and square in Italy with white shrouds — one for every person killed in Gaza. This silent action will not allow the world to forget this catastrophe.”
The campaign comes amid renewed Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. On Saturday alone, 30 Palestinians were killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel resumed large-scale bombings on March 18, often targeting homes and tents sheltering displaced civilians. Since October 7, Israel — with full US support — has imposed a total blockade and launched a systematic genocide.
Organizers of Italy’s shroud campaign said the act of hanging white sheets is a form of care and protest — a tribute to the dead and a call to protect the living.
They wrote in a joint message:
“How do we mourn 50,000 lives lost in nearly 600 days of siege? We try to do it silently, from every town, village, and window in Italy. These sheets are the bodies the world refuses to see.”
