Thousands Rally in Australia for Gaza Cease-Fire, Assange's Father Speaks Out
The rallies, held in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, were the latest in a series of protests that have been taking place every week for the past six weeks, according to ABC News.
In Melbourne, the crowd gathered outside the State Library of Victoria and marched to Treasury Gardens, waving Palestinian flags and holding signs that read "Free, free Palestine" and "Shame, shame, Labor shame."
Among the speakers at the rally was John Shipton, the father of imprisoned Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who expressed his solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemned the Israeli aggression.
Read More:
Shipton said the Israeli bombing of Gaza had only incited more anger and a "hunger for justice" around the world.
"Soil watered with the blood of precious children over the last 36 days. What do they expect will grow from that soil?" he asked.
"I can tell you: rage, a hunger for justice that's swept around the globe and embraced every human being that is sentient enough to have sympathy for another," he said.
Australian government urged to slam Israeli genocide in Gaza
Greens Party Senator Mehreen Faruqi also addressed the rally and urged the federal government to denounce the Israeli "genocide" in Gaza and join the international calls for a cease-fire.
"They can't even bring themselves to join the chorus of nations that are calling for a cease-fire," Faruqi said, Anadolu Agency reported.
"Shame on them...We will not shut up."
In Sydney, thousands of protesters gathered at Hyde Park and chanted "In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians," as they marched to the Town Hall.
They held up signs that said "Cease-fire now" and "Stop genocide" and demanded that the Australian government cut ties with Israel and impose sanctions on it.
The protesters also expressed their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to pressure Israel to end its occupation and oppression of the Palestinians.
Read More:
The media office in Gaza said on Sunday that the death toll from the Israeli attacks had reached 13,000, including over 5,500 children and 3,500 women.
It said the number of injuries had exceeded 30,000, with more than 75% of them being children and women.
It also said the number of missing persons had crossed 6,000, with most of them suspected of lying under the rubble of the destroyed buildings.
Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have been damaged or demolished by the Israeli air and ground assaults on the besieged territory, which has been under a crippling blockade for more than a decade.
Source: Agencies
