Hundreds of Palestinian supporters gathered south of Brisbane, and in the centres of Melbourne and Sydney, in another week of protests calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Key points:
- Palestinian supporters in Brisbane marched to the federal treasure's electorate office
- Melbourne and Sydney protesters gathered for the eighth week
- A Walk for Unity event took place for Melbourne's Jewish community and supporters
Chants of "free, free Palestine" and calls for a ceasefire in Gaza could be heard at the event at Logan Gardens.
Organisers from Justice for Palestine spoke at the rally, standing in front of a banner that read, "all I want for Christmas is a ceasefire".
Children's shoes were hung from a white Christmas tree and displayed on the ground, symbolising those who have died in the conflict.
One organiser, who did not want to be named, said she was praying the protests would give hope to their "brothers and sisters" in Gaza, and bring an end to suffering.
"This Christmas tree is full of children's shoes, children who will never wear these shoes again," she said.
"Christmas has been cancelled in Bethlehem. We should not be celebrating during genocide. We should not be celebrating when children are dead."
Organisers focused their calls for action on Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who is also the local member for Rankin.
After speeches, the protesters did a loop of a nearby bowls club where Mr Chalmers had planned to host a Christmas party, chanting "Jim Chalmers, you can't hide".
According to the organisers, the party had been cancelled due to the planned protest.
They called on Mr Chalmers — and the Albanese government — to actively support a ceasefire.
An original plan to march to Mr Chalmers's nearby electorate office was changed, with attendees opting to drive there instead.
Melbourne urges more action from PM
The calls for an end to the Israel-Gaza conflict were also echoed by the thousands of people who gathered outside the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne.
It's the eighth week in a row that protests have been held.
The crowd waved dozens of Palestinian flags as it chanted "ceasefire now", and "in our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians."
Self-described militant unionist Christy Cain spoke to the crowd and urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to "get off his knees".
"This is not just a rally for Palestinian people, this is a rally around the world, to say we've had enough," Ms Cain said.
"We need to see Palestine free."
Symbolic watermelon material, often used as a stand-in for the Palestinian flag, was unveiled on Swanston Street.
The crowd then marched down Swanston Street towards Flinders Street station as a heavy police presence lined the street.
A smaller protest was held earlier Sunday morning at federal MP Peter Khalil's office in Coburg, in Melbourne's north.
Sydney hears vows of ongoing protests
Sydney's CBD also experienced its eighth week of consecutive pro-Palestinian protests this weekend.
Thousands of people of all ages filled Hyde Park to demand for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The crowd waved Palestinian flags and hoisted placards, which depicted their criticisms of both the Australian and NSW governments.
Many were critical of last week's temporary four-day ceasefire, saying they won't stop protesting until an indefinite agreement is reached.
Some children and adults had painted their faces with streaks of red, to symbolise the blood shed throughout the conflict.
Several streets throughout the CBD were cordoned off by police, as protesters marched and chanted their demands to "free Palestine".
People were encouraged to write a message to those in Gaza on a large Palestinian flag on the paved entrance to Hyde Park, which was later paraded through the streets.
Tareq Zahian was at the rally with his children to stand in solidarity with the people in Gaza, because “it’s the human thing to do”.
“We don’t understand when this is going to end," he said.
“We were waiting for all this bloodshed to stop, but now we’re looking and see like the bombardment, and the killing of people and the children, it’s coming at much higher pace."
Another protester said she was frustrated by the lack of support from the Australian government.
“There are thousands of kids, thousands of innocent people, disabled, elderly, everybody’s being killed, and the government’s being quiet and silent," she said.
"Why are we being quiet about this? We have to do something about it. I’m a healthcare worker and I can’t stand it anymore."
Palestine Action Group organisers have said the rallies will continue at the same time and place for the foreseeable future.
There was a big police presence as part of Operation Shelter, with officers from various agencies in attendance, including Police Transport Command, State Crime Command and the Dog and Mounted Unit.
Police said there were no incidents or arrests.
In Canberra, about 400 people gathered at Garema Place.
Other protests are planned in Adelaide.
'Love doesn't have geography'
On Sunday morning, families and friends of hostages addressed Sydney's Jewish community at the North Shore Synagogue.
Hundreds of people gathered in the upper north shore suburb of Lindfield before midday for the event organised by the Israeli embassy in Canberra.
Five members of the delegation, who had arrived last week from Israel, shared stories about their loved ones.
Tali Kizhner spoke of her 22-year-old son Segev, who was killed by Hamas on October 7 after attending the Supernova music festival in Re'im.
"All this cruelty, all this pain, we need to recover from that. We can do this only together … like one big family," she said.
"It doesn't matter where we are on the globe because love doesn't have any geography."
One member of the group, 18-year-old Mika Shani returned to Israel early after her teenage brother, Amit, was released as part of a hostage deal with Hamas last week.
The Sydney leg of their visit follows an incident in Melbourne on Thursday, where they were confronted by about 20 protesters at a hotel in Docklands.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network said they were not aware of the protest that was arranged by the self-described grassroots Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance.
Walk for Unity in Melbourne
Members of the Jewish community held a Walk for Unity at Kings Domain in Melbourne on Sunday night, where hundreds gathered.
"This is a perfect opportunity for the silent majority of Australians to make a peaceful and meaningful statement against anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination," event organiser Simonne Whine said.
"We want to walk together towards a future that respects and supports all of us in the community."
Opposition Leader John Pesutto was among those present.
"You live in a country where you have every right and entitlement and expectation to live in peace to be proud of your heritage, your faith, your customs and traditions," he said when addressing the crowd.
Other MPs, including Josh Burns and Nick Staikos, were also in attendance along with the member for Caulfield, David Southwick, who chanted "united we stand, divided we fall".
"We are all absolutely torn apart by the events on October 7th. We're all also torn apart from what happened only a few weeks ago on the Sabbath in Caulfield," Mr Southwick said.
"No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter what you believe, we all are as one. We stand together united for love, united as one, united to ensure we end this war … to ensure peace for the Palestinians and peace for the Israelis as well."
Several leaders of other faiths, including the Archbishop of Melbourne and the Hindu Council of Australia were also said to have been in attendance.