Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters have marched through Melbourne’s CBD calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Police have estimated the crowd numbers at about 45-thousand and there were no major incidents. It was the latest in a string of demonstrations which have been growing since the beginning of the conflict.
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TVTranscript
00:00 They came in their thousands with one message.
00:07 "Free Free Palestine"
00:08 Numbers swelled in front of Melbourne's State Library before marching to Treasury Gardens.
00:14 Traffic was blocked on several streets as the crowd snaked its way through the city.
00:19 "You can do better guys."
00:21 "We should stand up for humanity."
00:23 "There's a lot of kids dying, we need to do something about it."
00:26 Addressing the crowd, Hash Taya, whose Caulfield restaurant was hit by an arson attack on Friday morning.
00:32 "To those who sought to silence us with hate and violence, I say you will not succeed. Love and unity will always prevail."
00:42 While police maintained the fire was not religiously or politically motivated, it did prompt violent clashes later that day.
00:51 "All Australians, including our Jewish community, have a right to be safe and to feel safe."
00:58 Earlier, a much smaller group of Israel supporters met in Caulfield Park to fly kites and call for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
01:07 "We have no idea what's happening to them, no one visited them, the Red Cross have no information about them."
01:14 "Free the hostages, to bring them back home safe and sound."
01:18 "Ceasefire now, ceasefire now."
01:21 A ceasefire is also on the mind of Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.
01:26 "We need steps towards a ceasefire, it cannot be one-sided, we know that Hamas is still holding hostages."
01:33 "An international humanitarian law does require the protection of hospitals, of patients and of medical staff."
01:41 "And we do call on Israel to cease the attacking of hospitals."
01:46 That's angered Australia's two top Jewish bodies, arguing Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes, rendering them unprotected by international law.
01:57 Protesters on both sides are vowing to continue to rally for their cause.
02:03 "I guess we just need to keep showing up until people start to notice, take notice, learn about this and stand up against it."
02:10 "Let this madness end, let the war end and let the innocent come back home."
02:14 come back.
02:14 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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