See The Incredible Photos From The 300,000-Strong Pro-Palestine March In Sydney

On Sunday, Sydney marched for humanity, with as many as 300,000 people marching across the Harbour Bridge as part of the ‘March For Humanity Save Gaza’ protest, to demand an end to Israel’s military blockade that is preventing aid from entering Gaza.

Organised by Palestine Action Group, the protestors’ demands were for Israel to let all aid into Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal from Gaza, and call for sanctions and an end to Australia’s two-way arms trade with Israel.

Weekly pro-Palestine protests have taken place in Sydney and across Australia for more than 90 weeks, though undoubtedly, this was the largest to date and comes as the World Health Organisation declares that malnutrition rates have reached alarming levels in Gaza. Starvation rates have also sharply increased, and162 Palestinians (92 of which are children) have died from lack of food as of August 2, according to UNICEF.

“The crisis remains entirely preventable,” wrote the WHO in a statement on July 27. “Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives… [and] nearly one in five children under five in Gaza City is now acutely malnourished.”

It explains that the “worst-case scenario of Famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip” and “the crisis has reached an alarming and deadly turning point”. Further, The UN released figures stating that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while seeking food aid, which sparked 110 aid organisations to write an open letter urging governments to act now and end the siege to allow the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms.

According to reporting by the UN, more than 60,000 Palestinian people have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since Israel launched its military offensive following the attack on October 7, 2023. This is when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and abducted a further 250 people.

The protest in Sydney was organised following increased pressure on the Australian government to take firmer action against the ongoing killing of Palestinian people. When the protest was announced last week, it was met with push-back from NSW Police and Premier Chris Minns. In the end, just 24 hours before the protest, Supreme Court Judge Belinda Rigg ruled that the protest was lawful, stating that Minns’ concerns over disruptions in the city did not warrant limiting Australians’ rights to peacefully protest.

“It is in the nature of peaceful protests to cause disruption to others,” said Rigg. This was the reality of the protest in Sydney on Sunday, with between 200,000 and 300,000 people braving torrential rain to peacefully march through the CBD and across the bridge to demand safety for Palestinians.

Ahead, see some of the remarkable photos from Sydney’s history-making march for humanity.