Several thousand people marched in Sydney and hundreds in Melbourne on Saturday, protesting against Israeli attacks on Gaza amid days of conflict between the two sides.
In Sydney, protesters gathered at Town Hall to march through the streets, chanting slogans such as “Free, free Palestine” and “Free, free Gaza”.
Israeli planes renewed air strikes in Gaza early on Saturday and Hamas militants in Gaza responded by firing rockets into Israel as their battle entered a fifth night.
“I see an uprising,” said one protester in Sydney, Walla Abu-Eid.
“I see people who are no longer going to remain silent. People who are fed up, people who are responding to oppression and violence by standing up for themselves.”
In Melbourne, protesters gathered at the State Library of Victoria and then marched to Parliament House, many carrying “Free Palestine” posters.
At least 132 people have been killed in Gaza since Monday, including 32 children and 21 women, Palestinian medical officials said.
Eight people have been killed in Israel, including six civilians, among them two children, Israeli authorities said.
