Julian Assange joins pro-Palestinian march in Australia
Despite heavy rain and strong winds, the crowd moved across the landmark, chanting 'Ceasefire now' and 'Free Palestine,' turning the 1.15km bridge into a platform for one of the largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations the city has seen.
Assange was seen marching with family and flanked by former Australian foreign minister and New South Wales premier Bob Carr.
Security was visibly heightened, with New South Wales police deploying hundreds of officers across the city to oversee the event.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, addressing protesters at Sydney's Lang Park, declared the march a 'historic' moment and called for sweeping sanctions against 'Israel'. 'Harshest sanctions on Israel,' she urged, accusing its military of "massacring" civilians in Gaza. She also criticized Premier Chris Minns for attempting to discourage the rally.
Several demonstrators held placards bearing the names of Palestinian children killed since the aggression started in October 2023. Labor backbencher Ed Husic was also in attendance, using the moment to push for the recognition of Palestine by his own party, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The rally comes amid a shifting international tone. France, Britain, and Canada have recently expressed openness, some more cautiously than others, to officially recognize a Palestinian state. Australia has so far refrained from doing so, but last week joined more than a dozen nations in a joint statement expressing 'positive consideration... to recognise the state of Palestine as an essential step towards the two-State solution.'
The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 60,000 according to the health ministry there, fueling global outrage and calls for intervention.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ammon
8 hours ago
- Ammon
Israeli authorities extend Al-Aqsa ban on Jerusalem's Grand Mufti for six months
Ammon News - Israeli authorities issued a six-month ban on Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, banning him from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jerusalem Governorate, citing lawyer Khaldoun Najm, affirmed that the occupation decided to ban Sheikh Hussein from Al-Aqsa for six months, following the expiration of his eight-day ban. This ban was imposed following his Friday sermon in which he denounced the occupation's starvation policy against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces had summoned Sheikh Hussein on July 27 and handed him an initial eight-day expulsion order from the mosque, with the possibility of renewal. The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs condemned the Israeli decision. It said in a statement on Wednesday that the ban of the Mufti is a clear attempt by the occupation to empty Al-Aqsa of religious authorities who confront its plans and demonstrate the extent and scope of its violations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in general, and Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular. WAFA
Ammon
11 hours ago
- Ammon
5 Palestinian civilians killed in Israeli strikes and gunfire in Gaza
Ammon News - At least five Palestinian civilians were killed and dozens wounded on Wednesday following Israeli airstrikes and gunfire targeting civilians in the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources. They said that Israeli fighter jets intensively opened gunfire towards groups of people waiting for humanitarian aid in the northern areas of Rafah, in southern Gaza, resulting in the killing of five people and the injury of 40. Meanwhile, another Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers near the aid center in Netzarim, in the central Gaza Strip. In a separate incident, a young girl was also killed by an Israeli drone strike on Al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City. WAFA
Jordan News
11 hours ago
- Jordan News
Israeli Army Issues New Evacuation Orders for 9 Areas in Gaza's Al-Zaytoun Neighborhood - Jordan News
Gaza's Al-Zaytoun Neighborhood On Wednesday, the Israeli occupation army issued new evacuation warnings to the remaining Palestinian residents in nine areas of Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City. The army called on them to move south toward the Al-Mawasi area in southern Gaza. اضافة اعلان Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on X: 'A warning to anyone who has not yet evacuated the designated areas or has returned to blocks 613, 624, 625, 628, 629, 630, 631, 641, and 695 in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood.' Immediate Evacuation Demanded Amid Expanding Operations The army ordered immediate evacuation of the listed areas toward Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, stating that its forces are continuing to 'deepen their operations' westward. The warning comes amid intensified Israeli air and ground bombardment on Gaza, and the ongoing forced displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, as the UN warns of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. Repeated Evacuation Orders and False "Safe Zones" On June 29, the Israeli army had previously ordered evacuations in parts of Al-Zaytoun and continues to issue similar warnings across various areas of the Gaza Strip. Although the army claims that the southern areas are 'safe zones', it continues to bomb all areas of the Strip, including those it tells civilians to flee to or gather in for aid distribution. Human Rights Watchdog: Gaza Is a Giant Prison Camp On July 8, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said Israel is treating Palestinians in Gaza as prisoners in a mass internment camp, forcing them to live in an area of just 55 square kilometers—less than 15% of the Gaza Strip—under intense military surveillance. The Monitor added that population density in that confined zone is unprecedented, stating: 'No inhabited area on Earth has ever recorded such density.' UN: 82% of Gaza Under Evacuation Orders In early July, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported that 82% of Gaza's territory is under Israeli evacuation orders, leaving Palestinians with no safe place to go, amid the ongoing destruction of shelters and infrastructure. Israeli Officials Signal Intent to Fully Occupy Gaza This comes alongside statements from Israeli officials indicating that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a decision to move forward with a full occupation of Gaza, according to Israel's public broadcaster on Tuesday. Haaretz Reveals U.S.-Backed Plan to Occupy Parts of Gaza On July 29, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Netanyahu presented the security cabinet with a 'U.S.-approved' plan to occupy parts of the Gaza Strip. The plan follows controversial remarks by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who said that Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza under then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was 'a foolish decision.' Israel's Past and Present Occupation of Gaza Israel previously occupied Gaza for 38 years, from 1967 to 2005, and since October 7, 2023, has waged a campaign of genocide in the territory—through killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement—while ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt its actions. Devastating Toll of the War The ongoing Israeli assault, backed by the U.S., has resulted in over 211,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, the majority being women and children, with over 9,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced. A famine, also unfolding, has claimed many more lives.
