A Jewish man and his six-year-old son were allegedly attacked at an Italian service station by a group of pro-Palestine protesters.
The man, who has not been named but is understood to be from Paris, was reportedly on his way home from a family holiday in Italy when they stopped at the service station near Lainate on Sunday.
Footage posted to social media showed a crowd of Palestine supporters surrounding them and shouting “Free Palestine” aggressively.
The protesters also shouted "Assassini [Italian for 'murderers']", 'this isn't Gaza, here is Italy", and "You will go to hell sooner or later."
At one point, the camera panned round to show the little boy, clearly distressed by the row. The pair were left "terrified" by the ordeal, according to a police report.
As the crowd seemed to grow even angrier, the camera began to shake, with the father claiming that he was pushed to the ground and kicked as his alleged attackers demanded he delete the video.
The man claimed that, while he was being attacked on the ground, he lost sight of his son. Thankfully, he said, a woman had taken the child away from the chaos and was looking after him around the corner.
When police arrived ten minutes later, the man told them: "We were on our way back from a trip to Lake Maggiore and I was with my youngest son, his sister and her husband, who is Italian.
"We were driving back to Milan and then I was going to carry on back to Paris where I live and manage a clothes store.
"I was heading towards the bathroom when one of the cashiers saw me and shouted 'Free Palestine' and it was him who sparked everything off.
"I gestured that I couldn't speak Italian but that he should stop, and I then started to film him and at that point others joined in.
"People were shouting 'killers' and 'genocide' and I was trying to protect my young son and then tried to walk us both to the bathroom.
"When we came up the stairs from the bathroom, there was a crowd there and they told me to delete the video and started pushing me.
"At that point I lost sight of my son, and I thought I have to defend myself but I ended up on the ground.
"They were like animals kicking me. I couldn't see my son but fortunately a woman had taken him away and was looking after him in a corner. I saw wild animals."
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini later posted on X: "What happened in the service area at Lainate is very serious.
"A father and his six-year-old son on holiday in Italy, attacked and insulted purely because they are Jewish, and called murderers.
"I had hoped that Jew baiting had ended with the death of Nazi fascism, it is unacceptable that in 2025 in our country it is still happening."
Milan police are currently investigating the incident.
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