The rally causes Australia to commits more food, medical aid for Gaza and comments from Jewish leaders

Australia has pledged an extra $20 million in humanitarian assistance for women and children in war-torn Gaza after more than 100,000 turned out in protest across the country to spotlight suffering in the besieged enclave.

The funding will go to organisations able to deliver desperately needed food, medical supplies and other lifesaving support, the federal government said in a statement on Sunday.

The new package of support includes $6 million for the United Nations World Food Programme for the provision and distribution of food supplies and $5 million for UNICEF for nutritional support for children at risk of starvation.

The International Committee of the Red Cross will also receive $5 million to help those in Gaza meet essential needs, including access to health care.

An additional $2 million for relief support with the UK will be donated through an existing partnership arrangement, while $2 million will go to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation to provide medical supplies to support the operation of field hospitals in Gaza.

Australia has so far committed $130 million in humanitarian assistance to help civilians in Gaza and Lebanon since October 7, 2023.

But the Albanese government has been criticised for not doing enough in addressing what the UN has described as worsening famine conditions in Gaza.

About 90,000 people turned the Sydney Harbour Bridge into a sea of Palestinian flags on Sunday while tens of thousands more met at similar protests in Melbourne and Adelaide.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia has “consistently been part of the international call on Israel to allow a full and immediate resumption of aid to Gaza”.

“The suffering and starvation of civilians in Gaza must end,” she said.

“Australia will continue to work with the international community to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages and a two-state solution – the only path to enduring peace and security for the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.”

Mr Albanese is standing firm against increasing pressure to recognise a Palestinian state after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom would do so unless Israel moved to secure a ceasefire and increase humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Mr Albanese said while the world was horrified at Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in thousands of deaths and some 200 people being taken hostage, the subsequent war had cost too many innocent lives.

Alon Cassuto, CEO of The Jewish Community Council of Victoria, commented: ”
While promoted as peaceful demonstrations, these rallies were anything but. They featured chants calling for the destruction of Israel and “death to the IDF”, displays of Nazi symbolism, and the glorification of terrorism, including images of Iranian dictator, Ayatollah Khamenei, holding a rifle. Such rhetoric and imagery have no place in Australia and are profoundly hurtful to our community.

If the organisers had truly wished to promote peace, they would have stood alongside Jewish and Palestinian communities, united in a call to defeat Hamas, advocate for a two-state solution, and build a better future for both peoples. Instead, they used an iconic Australian landmark that has historically been a symbol for unity to amplify hatred, division and extremist ideology.

A spokesperson for the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies told J-Wire: “At a time of already-strained social cohesion, it is deeply troubling to see an iconic Australian landmark and vital transport route used to import a foreign conflict into our streets.

This was billed as a “March for Humanity” yet there was not a single call for the release of hostages still languishing in Hamas captivity. Not even a mention of Rom Bravlaski or Eytar David, whose emaciated, broken bodies were broadcast to the world just last week.

Hamas could end the suffering of Palestinians today by releasing the hostages and laying down its weapons.”

Co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, said: “Our national landmarks are there to bring Australians together. This march did not do that. While the majority of those who marched were no doubt there in solidarity with Gazan civilians and do not harbour pro-Hamas views, the organisers are the same group that held a pro-Palestinian rally as the October 7 massacre was still unfolding.

Any genuine concern for humanity would have also included the forgotten people held against their will in Gaza, the tortured and broken innocents held underground for nearly two years. The fact that their plight is ignored by the rally organisers and speakers says it all.”

Rabbi Nochum Schapiro is the President of the Rabbinical Association of Australasia. He said: “Over the past day, many of us have felt a renewed sense of pain and unease following the deeply disturbing antisemitic rally that took place in our country.

These rallies were promoted as peaceful gatherings, but in reality, they were anything but. They echoed with chilling chants calling for the destruction of Israel and “death to the IDF,” featured Nazi symbols, and openly celebrated terrorism, including images of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei holding a rifle. For our community, these were not just slogans or symbols — they were painful reminders of the hatred we have known all too well. This kind of incitement has no place in Australia — a country built on values of respect, dignity, and inclusion.

If peace were truly the goal, the organisers would have raised their voices for the 50 innocent hostages still held by Hamas. They would have stood against the terrorist organisation that continues to bring misery to Israelis and Arabs alike. But instead, they chose to take a cherished national landmark — a place that should bring people together — and use it as a platform for division, hostility, and extremist ideology.

What should have been a call for compassion was twisted into a rally of hate. And our community felt every word, every image, every cheer — because we know where such hatred leads.”