Overview

• Organisers said about 30,000 joined the Sydney CBD rally, while NSW Police put attendance at roughly 8,000 and reported no arrests.
• NSW’s Court of Appeal barred a planned assembly at the Opera House, so marchers followed an approved route from Hyde Park to Belmore Park under a heavy police presence.
• Rallies were held in roughly 27 locations nationwide, as a separate pro‑Israel boat convoy on Sydney Harbour displayed messages to stand against antisemitism.
• Speakers included Australians recently detained after a Gaza‑bound flotilla was intercepted, who described their treatment in custody and urged continued pressure for Palestinian rights.
• The demonstrations coincided with the early phase of a Gaza ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump, with protesters expressing scepticism despite initial Israeli troop pullbacks and planned exchanges of hostages and prisoners.