Pro-palestinian protest live: Massive turnout expected despite Brisbane bridge ban

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3 weeks ago24 Aug 5:21pm

That's a wrap

We are concluding our coverage of today's pro-Palestinian protests. Here is a recap of what happened:

Throughout the day, tens of thousands of protesters gathered at around 40 locations across the nation to demonstrate against the war in Gaza.
Palestine Action Group organisers said the demonstrations should pressure the Australian government to sanction Israel and place an arms embargo on the state.
Organiser Josh Lees estimated there were "about 40,000 here in Sydney, 50 or 60,000 in Melbourne, 10,000 in Hobart, thousands in Perth and Brisbane and everywhere else."
In Brisbane, where protesters failed in their bid last week to hold the demonstration on the Story Bridge, police reportedly estimated about 10,000 gathered at Queens Gardens. Organisers put the turnout figure closer to 50,000.
Independent and Greens senators showed their support for the rallies and called for sanctions on Israel, with Larissa Waters saying the federal government will "feel the pressure" after the day's protests.
Other notable speakers included former Australian of the Year Grace Tame and high-profile journalist Antoinette Lattouf.
The rallies followed overnight protests in Israel, where an estimated 500,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages.

— Rashida Yosufzai and Cameron Carr

PINNED

3 weeks ago24 Aug 5:17pm

Watch: nationwide protests in video

From Cairns to Margaret River, pro-Palestinian protesters have taken to the streets across Australia.

Palestine Action Group organisers had estimated around half a million people were to join marches in more than 40 towns and cities around the nation.

3 weeks ago24 Aug 4:32pm

'Amazing turnout' in Brisbane and nationwide, Greens leader says

The Greens leader, Senator Larissa Waters, says she hopes the federal government will "feel the pressure" after today’s pro-Palestinian rallies, saying she was proud of the turnout.

Huge crowds have attended the pro Palestinian rally in Brisbane. Source: AAP / Jason O'Brien

"There are so many people here calling for peace, calling for sanctions on Israel just like we have on Russia and calling for an end to the two way arms trade," she told the Brisbane demonstration.

"Australians are horrified that we are selling weapons components to the Israeli government. It's got to stop.

"I think after the Sydney march, just a couple of weeks ago, which saw the government change position, I'm really hopeful that with the amazing turnout today across the country, the government will feel the pressure."

Organisers have described the rally as a record turnout in Brisbane as rallies take place at around 40 locations across the country.

3 weeks ago24 Aug 3:44pm

Senators call for Israel boycott, sanctions

In Melbourne Independent senator Lidia Thorpe drew comparisons between the Palestinian and First Nations struggle and touched on the supply of F35 fighter jet parts to Israel.

"The only way we're going to get traction here is to boycott Israel in all its forms," she said,

"We have to boycott anything that Israel touches, that Israel is about."

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe speaks as protesters participate in a pro Palestinian rally in Melbourne. Source: AAP / Joal Carrett

Melbourne appears to have attracted one of the largest crowds today according to Palestine Action Group rally organiser Josh Lees.

"We think there's about 40,000 here in Sydney, 50 or 60,000 in Melbourne, 10,000 in Hobart, thousands in Perth and Brisbane and everywhere else."

In the nation's capital, Independent senator David Pocock said the government should do more, including imposing sanctions.

"Do more as a middle power, put sanctions on [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the Israeli government," he said.

He said this was the issue he's heard more from about than any other from Canberrans.

— Rashida Yosufzai and Cameron Carr

3 weeks ago24 Aug 3:31pm

'History is watching'

In Sydney, organiser Amal Nasser said demonstrators were calling for "crippling" economic sanctions on Israel and an end to the two-way arms trade.

She referred to the IPC determination of famine in Gaza City and surrounding areas on Friday.

"This is a famine engineered by Israel, and it is a weapon of war used by Israel to escalate this genocide," Nasser said.

Israel denies it is committing genocide and denies it's imposing a policy of starvation in Gaza.

A young girl waves the Palestinian flag during a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi

High-profile journalist Antoinette Lattouf, who won an unlawful dismissal case against the ABC this year, addressed crowds at the protest too, discussing the killing of over 180 journalists in Gaza, and the impact of the war on reporters.

She spoke of death notes left by journalists Fatimeh Hassouna and Anas Al Sharif.

"Journalist Wael al Dahdouh was live on air when he learnt that his wife, children and relatives had been killed in an Israeli air-strike," Lattouf said.

"He broke down on air and continued working."

Khaled was a wedding photographer. Now he uses his camera to tell Gaza's story

She said newsrooms should not buckle to lobbyists pressure and said should demand access to Gaza, where foreign reporters are banned from independent reporting.

"To newsroom leaders I say, history is watching. It will not forgive stenographers of apartheid and genocide."

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame called on people who were too afraid to speak on the war, to do so.

There is another force that power power responds to and it is public pressure," she said.

"All of us here today, except for maybe some Zionists hecklers, do not need to be convinced of the truth. If we can get 300,000 to lock the bridge we can get 3 million, we can get more."

— Rashida Yosufzai

3 weeks ago24 Aug 2:49pm

Rallies underway in regional Australia

Along with the massive crowds gathering in the capital cities, several regional centres are also staging protests in support of Palestinians.

In Mackay Queensland, demonstrators were moved to tears by a speaker calling for humanity in Gaza.

And in Bathurst NSW demonstrators chanted "free free Palestine" along a major intersection as a crowd marched by.

Meanwhile people in Margaret River Western Australia are also marching, creating signs which read "stop genocide".

3 weeks ago24 Aug 2:21pm

Record numbers in Brisbane, organisers say

With rallies underway across Australian capital cities, attendees on social media are reporting massive crowds.

In Brisbane, where protesters failed in their bid last week to hold the demonstration on the Story Bridge, about 7000 gathered at Queens Gardens with speeches kicking off just after 1pm, AAP reports.

But organisers hailed the rally in Brisbane as "groundbreaking".

Remah Naji has told those gathered in a CBD park that the head count is ongoing.

"I think it's safe to say: this is the biggest pro-Palestine rally that this city has ever seen," the Guardian reports.

Protesters participate in a pro Palestinian rally at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett

A young protestor waves the Palestinian flag during a pro Palestinian rally in Sydney. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi

3 weeks ago24 Aug 12:10pm

Protests in Tel Aviv

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages, one of the largest demonstrations in Israel since the start of the fighting in October 2023.

The rally on Sunday evening was the culmination of a day of nationwide protests and a general strike to pressure the government to halt the military campaign.

People take part in a protest in Tel Aviv demanding the end of the war and immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Source: AP / Ohad Zwigenberg

The large crowds shouted: "Bring them all home! Stop the war!", as they gathered in one of the cities main plazas.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the initiator of the day of protest, estimated that about 500,000 people joined the demonstration in Tel Aviv, a figure not confirmed by the police.

— Agence France-Presse

3 weeks ago24 Aug 12:06pm

How are relations between Australia and Israel?

Australia-Israel relations, historically steadfast, appear to be quickly deteriorating.

After becoming one of the first countries to recognise Israel in 1949, shortly after its inception, Australia has regularly described itself as a "friend of Israel".

But as the Albanese government now moves to recognise Palestinian statehood — and this week rejected an Israeli politician's visa application — a diplomatic stoush is unfolding.

On Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded Anthony Albanese a "weak politician" who "betrayed Israel" and "abandoned" Australia's Jewish community, in a post on X.

Responding to the attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Adelaide on Wednesday he treats foreign leaders "with respect" and didn't take Netanyahu's description of him as "weak" personally.

Read more from SBS News's Sam Dover and Gabrielle Katanasho:

Diplomatic breakdown or 'consistent' behaviour? Where the Australia-Israel relations stand

3 weeks ago24 Aug 12:06pm

Gazans watching on

People in Gaza shared messages of thanks following pro-Palestinian rallies that were held in Australia earlier this month.

Some wrote messages of praise on social media, while others shared photos of children holding up posters expressing their gratitude for protesters who marched across Sydney Harbour Bridge.

'We're not alone': People in Gaza are reacting to 'best march' on Harbour Bridge

Mohammed Hamad, who lives in Gaza, shared a photo of his daughter holding a thank-you sign.

"We know what is happening outside and we are following everything. The best march I have seen is the bridge march," he told SBS News after the bridge march.

— Cameron Carr

3 weeks ago24 Aug 12:05pm

Gaza famine a 'man-made disaster'

Close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing famine, with the number due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September, according to global hunger monitor the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

For a region to be classified as in famine at least 20 per cent of people must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.

UN-backed global hunger monitor confirms famine in Gaza City

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Gaza famine was a "man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself".

He called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages still held by Hamas, and unfettered humanitarian access.

Israel dismissed the report's findings as false and biased, saying the IPC had based its survey on partial data largely provided by Hamas, which did not take into account a recent influx of food.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the report is an "outright lie".

— Cameron Carr and additional reporting by the Reuters News Agency

3 weeks ago24 Aug 12:04pm

'Continue to build momentum', rally organiser says

Palestine Action Group organiser Amal Naser said the rallies are a call for the Australian government to sanction Israel and place an arms embargo on the state.

"We are hoping the government responds to people power," she told the ABC.

"We will continue to build up the momentum, continue to build up people power."

She told the ABC that Israel has "engineered a famine in Gaza", and warned the Albanese government "to not make the same mistakes as the Howard government" with the Iraq war.

The group has said it will continue to demonstrate across the country, following a march of some hundreds of thousands of people across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

— Cameron Carr

3 weeks ago24 Aug 12:04pm

Organisers expect half a million people at rallies today

Protesters are preparing to rally for Gaza, in what organisers say could be among the most significant mass movements in Australia's history.

Hundreds of thousands are anticipated to join a countrywide surge of solidarity for the Palestinian cause, just days after famine was confirmed in Gaza City and its surrounding areas for the first time by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee.

At least 21 cities and towns will participate according to organisers, however that figure could climb to over 40, they said.

Palestine Action Group’s Sydney spokesman Josh Lees said organisers are anticipating up to half a million people to turn out, up from the estimated 300,000 that attended the Sydney Harbor Bridge march in early August.

PRO PALESTINE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE MARCH

Pro-Palestine protesters at the march for humanity in Sydney. Source: AAP / Flavio Brancaleone

"That bridge march has generated so much momentum around the country," he said, according to the Australian Associated Press.

Earlier on Thursday, a magistrates court in Brisbane vetoed plans by organisers to march across the city's Story Bridge, replicating the historic turnout on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in early August.

— Cameron Carr

Australia-wide protests call for sanctions, end to Gaza war — as it happened

Demonstrators took part in nationwide rallies calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza.

That's a wrap

Watch: nationwide protests in video

'Amazing turnout' in Brisbane and nationwide, Greens leader says

Senators call for Israel boycott, sanctions

'History is watching'

READ MORE

Rallies underway in regional Australia

Record numbers in Brisbane, organisers say

Protests in Tel Aviv

How are relations between Australia and Israel?

READ MORE

Gazans watching on

READ MORE

Gaza famine a 'man-made disaster'

READ MORE

'Continue to build momentum', rally organiser says

Organisers expect half a million people at rallies today

previous

1of1

next

Australia-wide protests call for sanctions, end to Gaza war — as it happened

Demonstrators took part in nationwide rallies calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza.

That's a wrap

Watch: nationwide protests in video

'Amazing turnout' in Brisbane and nationwide, Greens leader says

Senators call for Israel boycott, sanctions

'History is watching'

READ MORE

Rallies underway in regional Australia

Record numbers in Brisbane, organisers say

Protests in Tel Aviv

How are relations between Australia and Israel?

READ MORE

Gazans watching on

READ MORE

Gaza famine a 'man-made disaster'

READ MORE

'Continue to build momentum', rally organiser says

Organisers expect half a million people at rallies today

previous

1of1

next

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