Thousands of Palestine supporters have rallied in Sydney to condemn Israel and the escalating military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as deadly hostilities in the territory threaten to escalate into an all-out war.
A rally at Sydneys Town Hall drew a large crowd objecting to the decades-long Israeli occupation of historical Palestinian territories and the week of escalating airstrikes targeting Hamas, the Islamist militant group in control of Gaza.
Pro-Palestine protestors gathered in the Sydney CBD to condemn the situation in Gaza. Credit:Mehreen Faruqi/Twitter
Israeli airstrikes in recent days have killed 126 Palestinians, including 31 children, and wounded more than 930 in densely populated Gaza, according to local officials. Hamas rockets fired into southern Israel have killed at least eight Israelis.
Bearing Palestinian flags and the symbolic chequered keffiyeh scarf, attendees at the rally in the Sydney CBD gathered to mark what Arabs call the Nakba the catastrophe associated with the creation of Israel and the mass exodus of Palestinians in 1948.
Speaking at the Sydney event, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi condemned the escalating situation in Gaza.
What is happening in Palestine now is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader pattern of destroying the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians, she said.
Attendees repeated popular Arabic and English chants in support of the Palestinian cause, calling for a free Palestine and an end to the occupation.
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, attendees chanted.
