Australians rally in 40 areas in latest protest against Israeli creation of Gaza catastrophes

Hundreds of thousands of Australians took to the streets across the country on Aug 24 in the latest mass show of support for Palestinians facing Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip, with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterating the need for a Middle East ceasefire.

Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in 40 cities and towns calling for more pressure to be applied on Israel to stop the fighting in Gaza, the Australian Associated Press reported.

The protests in major cities included about 40,000 in Sydney, 60,000 in Melbourne and 10,000 in Hobart, broadcaster SBS reported.

More than 50,000 people turned out on Sunday in Brisbane, capital of Queensland state, forming the largest pro-Palestinian crowd in the city's history, AAP quoted march organizers as saying.

The Sunday marches came three weeks after a mass protest on Sydney's harbor bridge, with demonstrators swarming the iconic link to highlight the devastating humanitarian impacts of the Gaza conflict.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong had said in a joint statement on Aug 11 that the country would formally recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September, in a move to help "build the historic global momentum to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East".

Speaking to media on Aug 25, Albanese said "we have consistently advocated, both directly to the Israeli government, but also through our vote in international forums for aid to be allowed to get into Gaza".

"We will continue to use our voice in international forums and continue to be a strong advocate for the long-term solution as well, which, of course is the State of Israel and the State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security," he said.

The Autralian government has earlier firmly rejected Isareli officials' criticism of Australia's stance over Gaza.