Thousands of Palestinian supporters gathered in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday to celebrate the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after a 15-month war.
The ceasefire was postponed at the last minute when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would not begin until Israel received from the Gaza-based terror group Hamas a list of names of Israeli hostages to be released.
The ceasefire was due to come into effect at 5:30 PM AEDT, but was declared about three hours later at 8:15 PM AEDT.
Hamas has said it will release British Emily Damari, 28, who was kidnapped in the October 7 attacks and has been held hostage for 470 days, along with 23-year-old Romi Gonen and 30-year-old Doron Steinbrecher.
Israel has waged a fierce and deadly war against Hamas since the terrorist attack that killed thousands of Palestinians.
A pro-Palestinian celebration in Melbourne's north on Sunday evening drew hundreds of expressions of support for those affected by the conflict in the Middle East, which has left many mourning lost relatives and destroyed homes.
At 8:15 PM AEDT, a ceasefire was declared between Israel and Palestine, with three hostages (pictured) held by Hamas to be released as part of the deal
British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, (pictured) was kidnapped in the October 7 attack and has been held hostage for 470 days
Protesters march towards Parliament House during a pro-Palestine demonstration in Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2025
Organizer Hash Tayeh said Sunday's event was a time to celebrate, mourn and reflect for all humanity, not just Palestinians.
Mr Tayeh, who has lost 40 family members in the Gaza conflict, said that despite the ceasefire, the struggle for accountability and reconstruction continued.
“Personally, I woke up this morning pretty happy, full of energy and just excited about the relief that these people are going to experience,” he said.
“But the hardship in terms of people still rebuilding their lives here in Australia and around the world, and the homes (being) destroyed in Gaza, that continues.”
Hundreds also attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney's Hyde Park on Sunday, cheering defiant speeches urging them to keep pushing for a Palestinian state.
The three-phase ceasefire came into effect after Israel agreed to the deal, which includes the release of hostages.
But Netanyahu said the truce was only temporary and made the ceasefire conditional on receiving the names of hostages to be released.
Thousands of Palestinians and their supporters gathered in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday to celebrate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas (a participant at the Sydney meeting is pictured)
A rally participant holds up a sign during a Pro-Palestine rally in Sydney on Sunday, January 19, 2025
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said communities around the world want the ceasefire to remain in place despite ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
“We certainly have hope, as does the world I think, that this ceasefire will hold. It is what the world wanted to see and it is good that it has happened and that it will happen,” he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.
“We want hostages to be released, we want the right aid to reach the people of Gaza, and we want Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.”
Israel's war in Gaza began after Hamas's attack in 2023, which Israeli authorities say killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's retaliatory attacks, according to the local health ministry.
The ceasefire came as NSW Premier Chris Minns said the state government would look at strengthening hate speech laws following a series of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney.
In the latest incident, a home previously owned by Alex Ryvchin, co-director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, was targeted in an arson and graffiti attack on Friday.
Mr Minns said the attacks were 'despicable' and further incidents must be prevented.
“The first spark (of anti-Semitism) is not going to a synagogue or a house and lighting a match, the first spark is hate speech in our community,” he said.
Organizer Hash Tayeh said Sunday's event was a time to celebrate, mourn and reflect for all humanity, not just Palestinians. A man is pictured at a rally in Sydney
Pro-Palestinian protesters in Melbourne were defiant of Israel on Sunday
“Our government is going to make a decision soon, a difficult decision but the right one, to strengthen the laws against hate speech in NSW, so if someone preaches hate in the community, it doesn't manifest itself in a firebombing two months or three months later. or a seizure or something worse.”
The Prime Minister said states and territories were united in preventing anti-Semitism.
“We are determined to eradicate this, there is no place for anti-Semitism in Australia. There is no place for the kind of outrageous acts we have seen,” Albanese said.
The names of the three hostages to be released had not yet been announced when the deadline for the start of the ceasefire passed at 8:30 a.m. local time, said Admiral Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman.
He said the army “continues to attack even now within the Gaza arena,” and will continue to do so until Hamas adheres to the agreement.
The army later said it had struck a number of militant targets in northern and central Gaza.
An Israeli airstrike killed at least eight people in the southern city of Khan Younis after the ceasefire was postponed. Nasser Hospital confirmed the casualties of Sunday's strike, which took place about two hours after the ceasefire was supposed to come into effect.
Gaza's Health Ministry reported three more deaths on Sunday as a result of strikes in Gaza City.
Hamas had previously attributed the delay in handing over the names to “technical reasons.”
It said in a statement that it was committed to the ceasefire, as previously announced.
