Over 200,000 people protested across Italy Friday as they downed tools in support of the Gaza aid flotilla in a strike that caused widespread disruption.

Demonstrators condemned the treatment of the Global Sumud Flotilla that sailed to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations has reported famine conditions after nearly two years of war.

The Italian strike, called by the USB and CGIL unions, followed demonstrations Thursday in cities across the world, including Milan and Rome, where some 10,000 people marched from the Colosseum.

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Texas woman was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim girl in a May 2024 incident that local police said was motivated by racial bias.

Court records and proceedings cited by CBS News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram showed Judge Andy Porter sentenced Elizabeth Wolf, 43, after she pleaded guilty to attempted murder and injury to a child. Wolf was indicted last year after the attack, which was condemned by then-President Joe Biden, and waived a trial by jury.

Hamas said on Friday it was ready to start immediate talks on freeing the Israeli hostages it holds and ending the Gaza war, welcoming US President Donald Trump's call for Israel to stop bombing the Palestinian territory.

Trump's peace proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a halt to hostilities in the nearly two-year conflict, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's disarmament -- a point the Islamist group did not mention in its response.

Israel on Friday deported four Italian activists, the first of hundreds detained from an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, shortly after the interception of the group's final boat brought an end to its mission.

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail last month, ferrying politicians and activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg towards Gaza, where the United Nations says famine is taking hold.

Protesters around the world Thursday railed at Israel's interception of a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza's besieged Palestinians, urging greater sanctions in response.

From Europe to Australia and South America, demonstrators took to the streets to condemn the treatment of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona last month to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations reports famine conditions after nearly two years of war.

Former US secretary of state Antony Blinken voiced support Thursday for a Gaza plan laid out by President Donald Trump, saying it was in line with a deal he pursued under Joe Biden.

"I do think it's cause for some hope. I certainly hope that the plan gets fully accepted, fully adopted and fully implemented," Blinken said.

"This is essentially the plan that developed over many months and more or less (was) left in a drawer for the incoming administration, and I'm very, very glad they picked it up," he told the podcast of former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara.

The group leading Morocco's mass protests called on Friday for the government's dismissal, following days of unrest that have seen the deaths of three people.

The demand came after fresh demonstrations demanding reforms to the health and education sectors took place across the kingdom on Thursday, a sixth consecutive day of largely peaceful protests pockmarked with spates of violence.

"We demand the dismissal of the current government for its failure to protect the constitutional rights of Moroccans and respond to their social demands," protest group GenZ 212 said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Israeli naval forces Thursday for intercepting a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, as authorities prepared to deport hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists aboard the vessels.

The Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels began its voyage last month, with politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg heading to Gaza, where the United Nations says famine has set in.

An attacker ploughed a car into a crowd outside a packed synagogue in Britain on Thursday, a Jewish holiday, before going on a stabbing spree, killing two people and leaving three wounded, police said.

Police said they shot dead the suspect, later identifying him as a UK citizen of Syrian origin, and arrested three other people within hours of the attack in the city of Manchester, which took place as Jewish communities around the world marked Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday in the Jewish calendar.

Israel said on Thursday it will deport to Europe pro-Palestinian activists on an aid flotilla headed towards Gaza as the Israeli navy intercepted vessel after vessel in the Mediterranean.

The Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels began its voyage to Gaza last month, with politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg aiming to break Israel's siege of the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations says famine has set in.