SYDNEY (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched through Australia’s cities and towns on Sunday demanding action to save dying and starving Palestinians.
Peaceful rallies were held in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and dozens of other cities across the country, with protesters urging sanctions on Israel and an end to Australia’s arms trade with Israel.
Police estimated about 10,000 people took part, while organizers said 100,000 marched in Sydney alone. They put the total figure at 300,000 across the nation.
In Melbourne, protesters congregated outside Victoria’s State Library, chanting “sanction Israel now.”
Organiser Nour Salman said Australia’s plans to recognize Palestinian statehood, in step with like-minded allies at the next United Nations meeting in September, must be accompanied by tougher sanctions on Israel.
“Enough is enough. There is no ifs, buts or maybes,” the activist said.
In Adelaide, about 5,000 people chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” gathered in Victoria Square, before marching to Parliament House, where they were addressed by independent senator Fatima Payman.
Josh Lees, a spokesman for Palestine Action Group’s Sydney branch, told the AAP news outlet that a march on Sydney Harbour Bridge earlier this month has “generated so much momentum around the country.”
Organizers estimated that 20,000 turned out in Perth, with smaller protests also in Canberra, Hobart and other cities.
The protests came after the world’s leading authority on food crises said Friday the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it’s likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.
The report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said more than half a million people in Gaza — about a quarter of its population — face catastrophic levels of hunger, with many at risk of dying from malnutrition-related causes. Israel has rejected the report’s findings.
At least 62,263 Palestinians have been killed in the war since it started on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. It does not say whether those killed by Israeli fire are civilians or combatants, but it says around half were women and children. The U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes its toll but has not provided its own.
Hamas-led militants started the war when they attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking hostages.
