Tens of Thousands March on Sydney Harbour Bridge to Support Gaza
The march began at 1 p.m. local time as demonstrators crossed the 1.1 kilometer (0.7 mile) bridge and back again, raising concerns among authorities of a crowd crush. While the police estimated a crowd of 90,000, organizers said the number may have been more than three times higher.
'We've sent an enormous message to the world,' the Palestine Action Group said in a post on Instagram. 'Today the people spoke, and they said stop starving kids to death! Stop massacring people desperately seeking food!'
It's a rarity that the famous landmark — a major arterial road connecting Sydney's central business district to the city's north — is closed, and traffic diverted, for a rally. In 2023, it was blocked for seven hours when an estimated 50,000 people marched in support of equality for the LGBTIQ community. In 2000, some 250,000 people marched over the bridge in support of Indigenous reconciliation.
Despite heavy rainfall that has caused flooding elsewhere in the state, orderly protesters dressed for wet weather and carried Palestinian flags, banners and signs as they swarmed the bridge. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, former foreign minister Bob Carr, ex-Socceroos captain Craig Foster and Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi were among those in attendance.
The United Nations World Food Program has warned for weeks that Gaza's population of more than 2 million people faces crisis levels of food insecurity, with scores of aid groups reporting widespread starvation. Israel blocked all aid from entering the enclave for 11 weeks from March 2 to May 21.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said there is no starvation or policy to deprive people of food in Gaza. He has blamed Hamas for stealing and blocking the distribution of aid, as well as the UN for failing to distribute it.
Photos of emaciated children in Gaza that have been circulating in recent weeks have prompted some world leaders to ratchet up pressure on Israel to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. Pressure has been mounting on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to follow in the recent footsteps of France, the UK and Canada, whose leaders have announced or signaled plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September.
Albanese told the ABC on July 27 that a decision would be made at 'an appropriate time' and not just 'as a gesture,' but rather as a way forward 'if the circumstances are met' — one of which would be the removal of Hamas from power.
The New South Wales police had sought a court order to rule the Sunday protest 'unlawful and unauthorized' on public safety grounds. They argued there was not enough time to plan for it. On Saturday, a NSW Supreme Court judge rejected the application.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said last week he didn't support a protest 'of this scale and nature' taking place on the bridge. 'We cannot allow Sydney to descend into chaos,' he said, even as some of his fellow Labor MPs vowed to attend.
Protesters also marched in Melbourne on Sunday at the King Street Bridge, one of the city's main roads that crosses the Yarra River to link the CBD with its southern suburbs.
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