‘Took against Israel from the start': Australia joins calls for Gaza ceasefire
'The Albanese government is not trying to have any effect on the Middle East, it's just trying to manage domestic politics,' Mr Sheridan told Sky News host Peta Credlin.
'Because it took against Israel right from the start, it now has no influence with Israel at all.'
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West Australian
39 minutes ago
- West Australian
Nationwide protests planned after pro-Palestine Harbour Bridge march
Protest laws could be repealed or expanded following a march across an iconic national landmark, as activists plan for more demonstrations. The pro-Palestine movement, boosted by a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge which made news across the nation and around the world, hopes to build on its momentum. The march across the bridge and back in pouring rain came after opposition from police, and a court's overruling approval that has politicians worrying about the rare occurrence becoming common. Further protests are planned on August 24 in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth with hopes more can be organised in other cities. Ahead of the state's parliament resuming on Tuesday, NSW Premier Chris Minns says his Government is examining whether a legal precedent has been set by the Supreme Court judgment that allowed the protest to proceed. 'No one should believe it's open season on the bridge,' he told reporters on Monday. But new laws might be needed to stop future bridge protests. Mr Minns was 'not ruling anything out' but said any legislation could not be rushed. Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley encouraged the premier to look at 'what might happen next'. 'Because we can't continue to have these protests that shut down such an important area of a major city,' she told reporters. In her determination declining to prohibit the march, Justice Belinda Rigg said the bridge would have been closed to traffic regardless of whether the protest was authorised or not. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said demonstrations were an important part of democracy and highlighted the peaceful nature of the Sydney march. 'Australians want people to stop killing each other, they want peace and security ... they don't want conflict brought here,' he said. Mr Minns has faced some internal dissent from other Labor MPs over protest legislation. NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson has also flagged plans to seek the repeal of laws limiting protest, first introduced by the previous coalition government but expanded under Labor. Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees, defendant of the court action NSW Police took in an unsuccessful attempt to have the demonstration ruled unlawful, says nationwide protests are being planned for August 24. 'We want to build on this massive momentum we have now,' he told reporters. Despite concerns of regular marches across the bridge, Mr Lees said the group has no plans for a repeat crossing any time soon and accused the premier of having an anti-protest agenda. 'His stance is pretty clear and he's passed a raft of anti-protest legislation already,' Mr Lees said. 'We're going to have to keep fighting for our rights to demonstrate.'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Father reflects on anguish of having wife, daughters kidnapped by Hamas
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting of his security cabinet this week to discuss how to achieve its military objectives in Gaza. At the centre of this war are approximately 50 hostages who remain with Hamas, with the group releasing videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages over the weekend. One of them Evyatar David was filmed digging a hole that, he says in the video, was for his own grave. For Yoni Asher, the video was "traumatic to watch", as his wife and two daughters were kidnapped by Hamas in its October 7 attacks, and held hostage until they were released a few weeks later.
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
Israeli PM says to brief army on Gaza war plan
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Monday to update Israel's Gaza war plan, a day before a UN Security Council meeting on the fate of hostages still held in the Palestinian territory. Addressing a cabinet meeting nearly 22 months into the war, the Israeli leader told ministers that later in the week he would instruct the military on how "to achieve the three war objectives we have set". Netanyahu's announcement comes as he faces increasing pressure to return the remaining hostages in Gaza, as well as mounting international calls to address the dire food situation in the Gaza Strip. Israel -- backed by the United States and Panama -- is preparing to convene a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday to highlight the fate of the hostages. At the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel's three war goals remain "the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel". His statement came after hundreds of retired Israeli security chiefs wrote to US President Donald Trump to urge him to convince Netanyahu to end the war. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said ahead of the UN session in New York that "the world must put an end to the phenomenon of kidnapping civilians. It must be front and centre on the world stage". Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, 49 are still held in the Palestinian territory, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. - 'Immediate mortal danger' - The UN session was called after Palestinian militant groups published last week three videos showing hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David appearing weak and emaciated, causing deep shock and distress in Israel. Netanyahu said he had asked the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide food and medical treatment to the Israeli captives. Hamas's armed wing said it was willing to allow access to the hostages in exchange for opening aid corridors into all of Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned famine was unfolding. The ICRC said in a statement it was "appalled by the harrowing videos" and reiterated its "call to be granted access to the hostages". Netanyahu's government has faced repeated accusations by relatives of hostages and other critics of not doing enough to rescue the captives. "Netanyahu is leading Israel and the hostages to ruin," said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group. "For 22 months, the public has been sold the illusion that military pressure and intense fighting will bring the hostages back. "The truth must be said: expanding the war endangers the lives of the hostages, who are already in immediate mortal danger." - 'Only through a deal' - Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a truce. Hundreds of retired Israeli security officials including former heads of intelligence agencies have urged US President Donald Trump to pressure their own government to end the war. "It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel," the former officials wrote in an open letter shared with the media on Monday. The war "is leading the State of Israel to lose its security and identity", said Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet security service, in a video released to accompany the letter. The letter argued that the Israeli military "has long accomplished the two objectives that could be achieved by force: dismantling Hamas's military formations and governance." "The third, and most important, can only be achieved through a deal: bringing all the hostages home," it added. - 'We are starving' - Hamas's October 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally of official figures. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,933 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which are deemed reliable by the UN. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire on Monday killed at least 19 Palestinians, including nine who were waiting to collect food aid from a site in central Gaza. In Gaza City, Umm Osama Imad was mourning a relative she said was killed while trying to reach an aid distribution point. "We are starving... He went to bring flour for his family," she said. "The flour is stained with blood. We don't want the flour anymore. Enough!" Further south, in Deir el-Balah, Abdullah Abu Musa told AFP his daughter and her family were killed in an Israeli strike. Decrying the attack on "young children", he said that "perhaps the world will wake up -- but it never will". bur-ami/dc/jsa
