Thousands pour onto iconic bridge for Gaza
On a wet and windy Sunday, hundreds of Palestinian flags could be seen fluttering in the breeze as protesters marched to spotlight suffering in Gaza.
Rally organiser Palestine Action Group intends to draw attention to what the United Nations has described as worsening famine conditions in Gaza, as police flagged concerns of crowd crush.
Police sought an order to prohibit the protest but Supreme Court Justice Belinda Rigg rejected the application on Saturday.
With increasing concerns for public safety, the force has since permitted protesters to walk back southbound across the bridge to the Sydney CBD after the march was initially proposed to end in North Sydney's Bradfield Park.
The bridge will remain closed to motorists for most of Sunday and the metro is out of commission with scheduled repairs.
Several Labor MPs including former NSW Labor premier and former federal foreign minister Bob Carr joined the march in defiance of Premier Chris Minns alongside multiple Greens and independent colleagues.
The premier previously warned the city would "descend into chaos" if the protest went ahead.
In a statement, Mr Carr said Australians "want the Netanyahu government's humanitarian blockade to stop, the starvation and the killing to end".
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange joined Mr Carr at the rally.
First time protesters and friends Ian Robertson, 74, and Greg Mullins, 66, said they hoped their attendance could make a difference.
"The world's gone mad," Mr Mullins told AAP.
"I came today because I don't want my kids telling me what were you doing when this mass murder and genocide was going on," Mr Robertson added.
"It's horrific and awful, we can't bear watching it."
Acting Police Assistant Commissioner Adam Johnson earlier warned police would take swift action against anyone who sought to hijack the peaceful protest.
"That's our message all the time, whether it's a public assembly or not.
"I'm talking about anyone, I'm not talking about the actual protesters specifically, but anyone, that people are expected to obey the law."
Mr Johnson also raised safety concerns, citing the rainy conditions and the number of demonstrators.
"Crowd crush is a real thing ... but in this case, the risk is the numbers are unknown," he said.
An estimated 25,000 are believed to be on the ground in Sydney, NSW Police told AAP.
Federal Opposition leader Sussan Ley questioned the shutting down of a "critical piece of infrastructure" in Sydney.
Formerly a pro-Palestinian MP in parliament before shifting her position, Ms Ley took aim at the protest organisers and suggested the rally be moved to another location.
"I respect the right of free speech and protest, but this is taking it to another level ... the protest could happen elsewhere," Ms Ley told Sky News.
Labor backbencher Ed Husic, who has been more outspoken on ending the war on Gaza, emphasised unity.
"What we are seeing is that Australians are deeply affected by the images they are seeing out of Gaza," he told ABC TV.
"They want to send a strong message through peaceful protests to governments, both here and abroad, that the killing has got to stop, the starvation has got to end."
Several thousand protesters also marched through Melbourne to block a major CBD thoroughfare with many in the crowd banging pots and pans in a nod to mounting concerns about mass starvation in Gaza.
More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to local health authorities, while the United Nations says dozens of people have died in recent weeks due to starvation.
Israel's military campaign began after militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking more than 251 hostages.
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Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Israel considers full Gaza takeover
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met senior security officials to finalise a new strategy for the nearly two-year war in Gaza, his office says, with media reporting he favoured a complete military takeover of the Strip. Despite intense international pressure for a ceasefire to ease hunger and appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave, efforts to mediate a truce between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas have collapsed. Local health authorities said at least 20 people were killed by Israeli gunfire as they waited for United Nations aid trucks in the northern Gaza Strip. In southern Gaza, 20 people were wounded by Israeli gunfire as they waited to get aid from UN aid trucks near Morag Square near Rafah, medics said. Eight more people died of starvation or malnutrition in the past 24 hours, Gaza's Health Ministry said, while at least 80 died in the latest Israeli firing. The Prime Minister's office said in a statement that Netanyahu had held a "limited security discussion" lasting about three hours during which military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir "presented the options for continuing the campaign in Gaza". An Israeli official had earlier told Reuters that Defence Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu, would also attend the meeting to decide on a strategy to take to the cabinet this week. Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the Cabinet would convene on Thursday at 6pm (local time). Israel's Channel 12, citing an official from Netanyahu's office, had said the Prime Minister was leaning towards taking control of the entire territory. That would reverse a 2005 decision to withdraw from Gaza, while retaining control over its borders, a move right-wing parties blame for Hamas gaining power there. It was unclear, however, whether Netanyahu was foreseeing a prolonged occupation or a short-term operation aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing Israeli hostages. His office declined to comment on the Channel 12 report. "It is still necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, release our hostages and ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel," Netanyahu told new recruits at a military base. "We are not giving up on any of these missions." The UN called reports about a possible decision to expand Israel's military operations throughout the Gaza Strip "deeply alarming" if true. UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca on Tuesday told a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza that such a move "would risk catastrophic consequences ... and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza. "International law is clear in the regard; Gaza is and must remain an integral part of the future Palestinian state." The US State Department declined to comment on reports regarding Israel's potential strategy. "I'm not going to speak to news reports or what another government is planning," department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a briefing. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump discussed plans for the United States to significantly increase its role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza in a meeting Monday evening at the White House, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing two US officials and an Israeli official with knowledge of the issue. Bruce also declined comment on the Axios report. On Saturday, Hamas released a video of Evyatar David, one of 50 hostages still held in Gaza, appearing emaciated in what seemed to be an underground tunnel. The images shocked Israelis and sparked international condemnation. Throughout the war, there has been sustained international pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages, of whom Israeli officials estimate 20 are still alive. Most hostages have been released during ceasefires following diplomatic negotiations. Israel broke the last ceasefire. PRESSURE TACTIC? A Palestinian official said the suggestion of a full takeover of Gaza may be a tactic to pressure Hamas into concessions, while the Palestinian Foreign Ministry urged foreign nations to take heed of the reports. "The ministry urges countries and the international community to treat these leaks with utmost seriousness and to intervene urgently to prevent their implementation, whether these leaks are meant to exert pressure, test international reactions, or are genuine and serious," it said. Israel's coalition government, the most right-wing and religiously conservative in its history, includes far-right politicians who advocate the annexation of both Gaza and the West Bank and encourage Palestinians to leave their homeland. Nearly two years of fighting in Gaza have strained the military, which has a small standing army and has had to repeatedly mobilise reservists. It has throughout the war pushed back against the idea of Israel fully occupying Gaza. In a sign of differences between some members of Israel's ruling coalition and the military, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on X challenged military head Zamir to state he would comply with government directives even if a decision was made to take all of Gaza. The statement from Netanyahu's office said the Israeli Defence Forces were "prepared to implement any decision that will be made by the Political-Security Cabinet." HUNGER The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7 in 2023, killing around 1200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing 251 hostages. Israel's military response has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, killing more than 61,000 people - mostly civilians - according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel's campaign has forced nearly all of Gaza's more than 2 million people from their homes and caused what a global hunger monitor called last week an unfolding famine. Some 188 Palestinians, including 94 children, have died from hunger since the war began, according to Gaza authorities. An Israeli security official, in a briefing to reporters, acknowledged there may be hunger in some parts of Gaza but rejected reports of famine or starvation. On Tuesday, Israeli tanks pushed into central Gaza, but it was not clear if the move was part of a larger ground offensive. Palestinians living in the last quarter of territory where Israel has not yet taken military control - via ground incursions or orders for civilians to leave - said any new push would be catastrophic. "If the tanks pushed through, where would we go, into the sea? This will be like a death sentence to the entire population," said Abu Jehad, a Gaza wood merchant. Meanwhile, the brother of Israeli hostage Evyatar David, who was shown appearing emaciated in a video released by Hamas last week, told the UN Security Council to use its leverage to secure the immediate unconditional release of remaining hostages and to ensure humanitarian aid reaches them. "Every moment of delay is a step closer to final tragic outcome," Ilay David told the meeting. He said the video showed his brother as "a living skeleton. He had barely the strength to move or speak, his voice barely recognizable," the brother said, adding that neither he nor his mother could bring themselves to watch. "We knew that if we did, we would be unable to function. My father and sister, however, felt they had to see him, to hear his voice, to feel him somehow. "Now these images haunt them. My father cannot sleep, and my mother has not stopped crying ever since."
NZ Herald
6 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Locals beg for Putin's help as Russian-occupied Ukraine runs out of water
By contrast, an idyllic video posted last week on Russian social media depicted children playing in a fountain in the occupied port city of Mariupol - a set piece designed to show off Russia's reconstruction of the city it invaded and destroyed. But residents complain that they have no tap water for washing or drinking. Videos published by pro-Kremlin influencers extol sunny beach resorts, but people in the background are seen carting heavy water bottles. To claim its annexation of four eastern Ukrainian regions, Russia amended its constitution and staged sham elections, which were condemned by the United Nations and many governments because some residents were forced to vote at gunpoint. Moscow is insisting the regions are now part of Russia, like Crimea, which it invaded and illegally annexed in 2014, even though Russia forces still do not fully control them. The failure to resolve water and electricity problems in the Donetsk region is an embarrassment amid Moscow's massive propaganda and construction effort designed to prevent the regions' restoration to Ukraine. Moscow effectively has also forced many Ukrainians in the occupied regions to adopt Russian passports, a condition for receiving administrative assistance, obtaining a driver's licence or accessing other benefits. But the hardships of life under an authoritarian regime more intent on war gains than citizen services were apparent in videos posted on local Telegram channel Mariupol Now, which often focuses on Russian building projects in the city. Children are not the only ones demanding action. One man posted a video of a metal flask with greyish tap water in a bucket. A woman showed reddish water in a pot. And a third resident posted footage of a small dribble from her tap. 'You can't see the bottom of the water jug. There are some suspended solids in the water,' said the man, addressing the Moscow-appointed head of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, and other occupation officials. 'Why do you hate us so much? Where are you all? What are you trying to do, poison us all as soon as possible? What kind of water is that?' Pushilin met Putin in Moscow and told him that workers have to fix 'a hundred breaks a day' in water pipes in the region and that 60% of piped water was being lost in some areas. In Mariupol, Pushilin said, water was delivered for several hours every two days, but in other areas it was delivered for several hours only every three or four days. Putin earlier ordered 50 emergency teams and 88 water tankers to be sent from Moscow and the surrounding region. Pushilin said another 60 tankers would be sent from other Russian regions. The water crisis in Donetsk is among a slew of other war-related problems that have brought the impact of the war home to ordinary Russians, including long queues at airports in the peak holiday season and flight delays caused by Ukrainian drone activity near airports. In recent days, a major attack on Aeroflot's computer systems by Belarusian anti-Kremlin hackers caused dozens of flights to be cancelled on two consecutive days. Across the country, Russians have faced outages as authorities have shut down internet services to prevent drone attacks, disrupting daily life, including ride-hailing apps, delivery services and car sharing. Last month, a drone attack killed two people in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, forcing the closure of the airport there and disrupting air services in peak season. There have been public pleas from people living in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo / Getty Images Russia's 2022 invasion led to heavy fighting in the vicinity of the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas Canal, which delivered water to the Donetsk region, leading to the destruction of water mains, pipelines, dams and other water infrastructure. Pro-Kremlin authorities in Donetsk have typically blamed Ukraine for water problems, with Pushilin claiming without evidence last month that Kyiv was instituting a 'water blockade' against the region. After taking questions from 568 residents, he said, 'As always, water supply issues are at the top.' 'Unfortunately, due to the Ukrainian water blockade, we have to live in such realities for now,' he said, repeating a claim he has made since 2022 that the only solution was for Russian forces to advance farther and seize more territory, including the city of Sloviansk. According to Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the pre-occupation Mariupol mayor, Russian forces destroyed Siverskyi Donets-Donbas Canal infrastructure. Andryushchenko posted a drone video on Telegram last month showing the canal pipeline rusted and riddled with large holes caused by the war damage. In June, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based policy group, blamed Russia's invasion for the water crisis, adding that it had been exacerbated by 'mismanagement and resource misallocation'. Amid rising public criticism during the summer heat, Pushilin visited a reservoir on July 28 and promised to speed up repairs. 'We are doing everything we can to replenish reserves: We are clearing riverbeds and deepening reservoir bottoms. We are also relocating floating pumping stations to increase water pressure in our residents' homes,' he said. Pushilin said, however, that 'even these measures are not enough.' Russian propaganda outlets are trying to manage public discontent over the water crisis as part of a broader operation using bots to foster opposition to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and to promote Russian authorities in occupied Ukraine, according to a July 16 report by the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab and OpenMinds. The report tracked 3634 automated accounts that posted pro-Russian comments on Telegram channels between January 2024 and April of this year targeting occupied Ukraine. More than 48,000 comments attacked Zelenskyy, while more than 9500 comments focused on the restoration of water supplies. After the canal's destruction during Russia's 2022 invasion, Moscow built a pipeline to funnel water from the river to the canal in 2023, but local groups complain that the water flow is often blocked. Water is supposed to be delivered in tankers once every three days in locations facing shortages across the region, according to local authorities. Last month, residents of the occupied Donetsk region addressed an open letter to Putin claiming the water crisis was a threat to the life and health of the population and begged him to take personal control of the problem. The hardest-hit village, Osypenko in Makiivka, has had no water for a month, according to Typical Makiivka, a local Telegram channel, which posted video of locals lining up at a water-pumping station to fill plastic flasks. The channel also published video of what appeared to be water leaking from the supply system and running down streets. In mid-July, an official installed by Moscow, Andrey Chertkov, the acting head of the Russian-appointed Donetsk government, met local residents to hear what he called 'emotional and frank' complaints about the lack of water. Chertkov has instituted price controls on bottled water in supermarkets. Andryushchenko wrote on Telegram that many districts of Mariupol lacked running water. And in the Torez region, water was promised once every six days but had not been turned on in 10 days, he reported. 'All the 'officials' of Donetsk with their wells, boilers and pumps,' he wrote, referring to the authorities installed by the Kremlin, 'are unlikely to understand those who cannot wash or do laundry for weeks'.
Scoop
21 hours ago
- Scoop
Foiling The Anti-Protest Sceptics: The Pro-Palestinian Sydney Harbour Bridge March
There were the doomsdayers, the moaners and, let's face it, the ill-wishers, hoping that a march across one of the most famous bridges in Australia would not take place. Despite this, some 100,000 people attended the March for Humanity gathering which began in Sydney's central business district on August 3rd, before crossing to the Sydney Harbour Bridge to North Sydney. The pressing topic: a demand to end the barbarous conflict in Gaza. Instances of drama, violence, and mayhem, were conspicuously lacking. 'There was nothing of the sort, there was a beautiful, peaceful mass protest without any incidents,' said Palestine Action Group organiser Joshua Lees. The numbers of those attending are not clear, though they far exceeded what organisers envisaged. The PAG claim that the numbers may well have been as high as 300,000; NSW police put it at 90,000. It would have never taken place had the NSW Labor government had its way. Premier Chris Minns had vocally opposed the protest, claiming in a statement on July 28 that his government could not 'support a protest of this scale and nature taking place on Sydney Harbour Bridge, especially with one week's notice'. The city could not be allowed to 'descend into chaos.' This apocalyptic drivel was unsurprising given NSW's continuing dislike of lawful assembly and peaceful protest. The NSW police had also sought, and failed, to obtain a prohibition order in the state Supreme Court. The order would not have banned attendees to the protest but would have removed any protections from prosecution under various laws, including the blocking of roads and traffic. On August 2, Justice Belinda Rigg explained her reasons for rejecting the police request citing the compelling case advanced by Lees. 'The public interest in freedom of expression at this time, in the manner contemplated for the reasons advanced, is very high.' Ditto that of 'not being disrupted or having safety risked'. But imposing a year's planning schedule, or that of many months was 'not a practical reality in the circumstances in which this particular exercise of freedom of expression is sought to be achieved.' Rigg was also reassured by PAG's 'commitment to and experience in prosocial protest, the expertise of their organisers and marshals, and the significant history of their active communication and co-operation with police.' The approach from the police was typically jittery, nervous, worried. 'I can honestly say in my 35 years of policing, that was a perilous situation,' reflected acting Assistant Commissioner Adam Johnson. 'I was honestly worried that we were going to have a major incident with potential loss of life.' He went on to insist that any reservations on his part and his fellow officers had nothing to do with being against the protest but the dictates of public safety. 'Quite clearly today showed us that we had to scramble … We had to really think about how we could get people safely out of that confined space and back into the city safely.' At around 3pm, the march was halted, with protestors told that they had to turn around and return back to the CBD. According to Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna, 'We could not get those people, the number, the significant size of that crowd off the northern egress route without risking crowd crush.' While regarding the operation 'a success in that no-one was hurt' he was not recommending a rerun 'every Sunday at that short notice.' The numbers also left the New South Wales Police Minister Yasmin Catley worried. What mattered to her was the cool organising of an event, free of risk, and free of passionate imagination. It did not matter to her whether the subject matter entailed protesting against dead children, famine or grotesque foreign wars; what mattered was good organisation on the home front. 'Something of this magnitude would take absolute months, many months [to plan]. In fact the [Sydney] marathon takes at least 10 months to organise the logistics to ensure that happens without incident.' How wrong she and the police commissioners proved to be. Senator David Shoebridge of the Greens thought this display of support for Palestinians and a swift conclusion of the conflict more emphatic than anything done by the federal government in response to the crisis. 'Over 100,000 Australians marched across the symbolic heart of Sydney today, and together we showed more leadership on one rainy afternoon than our PM and Foreign Minister have shown in 2 years from the comfort of their offices.' In somewhat mangled words in the Guardian Australia, Sarah Malik gave the impression attendees had fought off a supernatural event: 'The rain couldn't stop us.' This 'felt like a collective wave of energy, hope and determination against institutional and governmental intransigence, denial, obfuscation and enabling that has so many of us feeling despairing, disgusted and disquieted.' The display of flag waving, placards and banners was impressive. But such events can risk becoming objects isolated from tangible fruition. Those participating can then claim that this was the first event to shift the tide, or an event that finally convinced those decision makers that something should be done. Marches can provide murmurs and trembles. They do not necessarily shake the edifice or threaten foundations. What the march across the bridge did was reveal to the Albanese government that something critical must be done beyond platitudes that claim balance and eschew anger. His political strategists will be taking note. In a modest way, the protest most probably encouraged Canberra's approval of an additional A$20 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza. But the hardened sceptics suspicious of lawful assembly remain, none more so than Minns himself. For the state premier, people surely had better things to do than worry and vent in public about humanitarian issues in a distant conflict. Think about the economics of the whole thing instead: 'we can't shut down the bridge every weekend'. And just to sour matters, he publicly stated that legislation that would ban protests across the Harbour Bridge had not been ruled out. How woefully predictable.
