Extract from ABC News
Separate events calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages have been held across Australia, with tens of thousands taking to city streets.
The events were the latest in a string of demonstrations since the beginning of the latest Israel-Gaza conflict on October 7.
A terrorist attack by Hamas on that date killed about 1,200 Israelis — a figure recently revised down from 1,400 by Israel's foreign ministry.
Gaza health authorities said on Friday at least 11,078 Palestinians, including 4,506 children, had been killed in Israeli retaliatory attacks. About 2,700 people have been reported missing and are thought to be possibly trapped or dead under the rubble.
Israel has rejected growing calls for a ceasefire, saying it would not stop until about 240 hostages taken by Hamas were returned, pushing further into Gaza City in its ground invasion aiming to eliminate the militant group.
The demonstrations in capital cities across Australia attracted high-profile speakers and shut down streets.
Tens of thousands rally for ceasefire in Gaza
Tens of thousands of people gathered at the steps of the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne for a pro-Palestinian rally before moving through the city towards Parliament.
The crowd swelled just before midday when chants ensued, calling for the end to the siege in Gaza and for an immediate ceasefire, with Victoria Police saying 45,000 people attended the rally.
Victorian Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam said civilians in Gaza were "ultimately paying the ultimate, brutal price of war", labelling Israeli offensives "collective punishment".
"The humanitarian catastrophe is beyond our comprehension," she said.
Children and adults draped themselves with the Palestinian flag and hundreds held flags and signs with messages such as "Free Palestine" and "Where's Albo?".
Some demonstrators became upset when one speaker — Margaret Beavis from the Medical Association for the prevention of war — would not say Israel's assault in Gaza was genocide.
Other speakers included Merri-bek Socialist Alliance councillor Sue Bolton, writer Clementine Ford, Palestinian academic Micaela Sahhar and Burgertory chief executive Hash Tayah.
One of Mr Tayah's fast food restaurants in Caulfield South was hit by an arson attack in the early hours of Friday morning. The fire was a catalyst for clashes between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel groups in Caulfield South that night, which saw racial slurs exchanged, punches thrown and a man hit by a rock.
Police on Friday said repeatedly they did not believe the incident at the restaurant was linked to Mr Tayah's attendance at an earlier pro-Palestinian rally, and did not believe the fire was motivated by prejudice.
Demonstrators pack rally at Sydney's Hyde Park
Pro-Palestinian protests have become a weekly occurrence in Sydney since the Israeli army retaliation against terror attacks by Hamas on October 7.
The event began with an Islamic prayer and heard from several speakers calling for the Australian government to support a ceasefire in Gaza.
A large police presence was on standby as the crowd marched into the CBD, and back to the park.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the large police presence required for the weekly protests was costing taxpayers.
"It's in excess of a million dollars for a major protest," Mr Minns said.
In addition to keeping the rallies safe, he said, police were also monitoring the events for hate speech and racial vilification.
Speakers have called the Israeli army's action in Gaza "ethnic cleansing" and condemned the bombing of hospitals.
Writer Randa Abdel-Fattah thanked Sydney's Indigenous community for their support of the Palestinian cause.
"Can each of us pledge we will be there on Invasion Day for them," she asked the crowd, to a loud cheer.
Islamic scholar Shaykh Wesam Charkawi addressed the crowd with a message for the Australian government.
"What does Israel have to do to earn one condemnation?" he said. "Is Palestinian blood so cheap?"
Pro-Israeli demonstration says 'no ceasefire until every hostage has been released'
Earlier, demonstrators calling for Hamas to release Israeli hostages gathered across the country.
About 1,000 people held a vigil in Sydney for Israeli hostages, saying there could not be a ceasefire until all were released.
The group sang while holding posters and waving Israeli flags, as well as flags from several other nationalities representing citizens that had also been kidnapped.
President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Jillian Segal, told the crowd the war should continue until Hamas was destroyed.
"There can be no ceasefire until every hostage has been released," Ms Segal said, as the crowd cheered in response.
She condemned anti-Semitism in the local community and said all Jewish people wanted peace in the Middle East.
"One cannot make peace with those who deny one's right to exist," she said.
In the crowd, 12-year-old Noah Stern said she was volunteering to assist the war effort in Israel.
"I'm here to stand for what's right and show everyone in Australia and Israel, that we are standing up for them," Noah said.
Darren Katz said he had been unable to sleep since the attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens on October 7.
"I thought it was really important to get out here. We're proud Australians, we came here 24 years ago, but we're Jewish and we need to stand up for the people of Israel and what they've gone through," Mr Katz said.
The event at the Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park in Sydney's east was tightly controlled by security, with entrants required to show ID and have their bags checked.
On Saturday night a motorcade of about 20 pro-Palestinian protestors drove through Coogee Beach, a move Palestinian Action Group Sydney spokesman Fahad Ali said was "deliberately provocative" towards the Jewish community in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
In Melbourne's Caulfield Park, about 200 people flew kites to share a similar message.
The kite event was inspired by the death of Kfar Aza resident Aviv Kutz, who died with his family on October 7 — the same day he was meant to host an annual kite-flying festival.
Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestine events across Brisbane
In Queensland, Munganbana Norman Miller and his wife Barbara, the co-founders of Indigenous Friends of Israel, had travelled from Cairns to Brisbane to take part in today's pro-Israel rally.
"I see them as family, as friends, and for me and Barbara today, we are meeting new friends," Mr Munganbana Miller said.
"It was on our hearts to be here."
Mr Munganbana Miller called on the Prime Minister to support Australia's broader Israeli community.
"I would like to see him go over to Israel," he said.
Meanwhile thousands of pro-Palestine supporters also gathered in Brisbane's King George's Square, calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza.
Many held signs which read "free Palestine" and "ceasefire now" as they chanted in the city.
The protest garnered high-profile speakers including Greens member for South Brisbane Amy MacMahon.
Among the supporters was Brisbane resident Sameer, who said he has lost 12 members of his family in Gaza.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told Insiders she was "deeply concerned by the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, as are so many in the world, and by the loss of life".
She reiterated that the government was calling for a "humanitarian pause" and "the next steps towards a ceasefire", saying "but it cannot be one-sided. Hamas still holds hostages. Hamas is still attacking Israel".
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