Pro-Palestinian protest closes Sydney Harbour Bridge

Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators thronged the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday to protest against Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and highlight conditions in the war-ravaged region.

Police estimated the number of participants crossing the iconic bridge in pouring rain and windy conditions at around 25,000, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) news agency reported.

Australian politicians, many of them from the ruling Labor Party, joined the march. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was among the protesters.

Ahead of the march, police warned that they would act to counter any signs of violence.

Chris Minns, premier of New South Wales, the state in which Sydney lies, had opposed the march for fear that Australia’s largest city could descend into chaos.

Former foreign minister Bob Carr, who joined the march, said in Australians “want the Netanyahu government’s humanitarian blockade to stop, the starvation and the killing to end”.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authorities in the coastal region, more than 60,000 people have been killed, many of them in Israeli military operations since Hamas and other organizations mounted an attack on Israeli from the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

Israel insists it is combating Hamas and seeking to release the remaining hostages seized by Hamas, while attempting to minimize civilian casualties.