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The protest organiser have said on their social media “hundreds of thousands” attended the rally.
The Harbour Bridge was closed in both directions from 11.30am to 5pm. Source: SBS News / Jack Giam
While crossing the Harbour Bridge, the protest organiser from the Palestine Action Group, Josh Lees told SBS News: “We’ve been told the protest is so big by the police that we are not going to be able to stop where we were planning … We are gonna have to march back over the bridge again, which is good. Because this is our bridge, this bridge belongs to the people of Sydney.”
NSW Police acting assistant commissioner Adam Johnson said the police’s current estimate was that around 90,000 people had attended the event.
Protesters walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
Renowned figures, like WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has rarely been seen in public since his release from a UK prison in June, were spotted at the rally in Sydney.
During the rally, NSW Police released a statement asking protesters to stop walking across the bridge for safety reasons. Source: SBS News / Jack Giam
Craig Foster, former Australian of the Year and retired football player, was also among the speakers at the Sydney rally.
Assange has rarely been seen in public since his release from a UK prison in June. Source: Getty / Lisa Maree Williams
Political figures such as Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, federal Labor MP Ed Husic and former Labor minister Bob Carr also attended the protest.
In her speech at the protest, Faruqi criticised NSW Premier Chris Minns, who had said his government could not support a protest of this scale taking place, especially at short notice.
UNICEF reports that “severe malnutrition” among children in Gaza is increasing faster than aid can arrive, citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health data. Source: SBS News / Jack Giam
Hours after the march started, NSW Police issued various statements urging the protesters to “stop walking north”, citing “safety issues”. Geo-targeting alerts were sent to the people in the area.
During the rally, NSW Police told participants to stop proceeding across the bridge to “avoid a crowd crush at the northern end of the harbour bridge”. Source: Getty / Izhar Khan
In a press conference after the rally, NSW Police acting deputy commissioner Peter McKenna, said most Sydney marchers were “very well behaved” but added that at certain points police “were really concerned about a crowd crush”.
“But gee whizz, I wouldn’t like to try and do this every Sunday at that short notice,” he added.
NSW Police’s different geo-targeted alerts during the protests have been taken as a sign of the huge number of people who attended the protest by Josh Lees, the protest organiser from the Palestine Action Grou Source: SBS News / Jack Giam
Protesters also gathered at the State Library in Melbourne to rally in solidarity with the protesters in Sydney, planning to march down to the King Street Bridge.
Protesters also gathered at the State Library in Melbourne. Source: AAP / Con Chronis
One protester faced off with riot police, repeatedly yelling “shame on you” at them. Source: AAP / Con Chronis
However, they had to leave the King Street bridge, which police had blockaded in advance of their arrival.
