Demonstrators hold a banner during the ‘Nationwide March for Palestine’, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect, in Sydney, Australia, October 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Tens of thousands joined a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney on Sunday, organizers said, one of dozens of demonstrations across Australia, with some protesters expressing skepticism a ceasefire in Israel’s two-year-old assault in Gaza would hold.

The organizer, the Palestine Action Group, estimated a crowd of 30,000 in Sydney, the nation’s most populous city, one of about 27 nationwide. Police did not have a crowd estimate for the protest.

The Gaza ceasefire appeared to be holding early on Sunday and Israeli troops had pulled back under the first phase of a US-brokered agreement to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands and left much of the narrow enclave in ruins.

“Even if the ceasefire holds, Israel is still conducting a military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank,” Amal Naser, an organizer of the Sydney rally, said in a statement. “The occupation as well as systemic discrimination against Palestinians living in Israel constitute an Apartheid system.”

Australian Broadcasting Corp footage showed protesters, many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyeh scarves, marching on closed city streets. Police said no arrests were made.

The rally was held in the business district after a court last week blocked a move to hold it at the Sydney Opera House.

Protester Abbi Jordan said she was at the rally because “this so-called ceasefire will not hold.”

“Israel always breaks every ceasefire they’ve ever done. For 78 years, they’ve been conducting an illegal occupation in Palestinian territories, and we demand the Australian government sanction Israel,” Jordan told Reuters.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for more than 200 Jewish organizations, condemned the protest organizers. “They want the deal to fail, which would mean the war would continue,” co-Chief Executive Peter Wertheim said in a statement.

Pro-Palestinian protests have been common in Australia, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, since the war in Gaza erupted when militants of the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in an attack on October 7, 2023.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) hold a bilateral meeting at Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Egypt to attend the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit, where leaders are expected to sign a US-brokered peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza, his office said on Saturday.

The first phase of the plan is set to begin with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners by Monday, marking what Britain called a “historic turning point” after two years of war.

The British leader would pay tribute to the role of US President Donald Trump and the diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in brokering the deal, his office said.

He is expected to call for continued international coordination to implement the next phase, which includes deploying a ceasefire monitoring mission and establishing transitional governance in Gaza.

Starmer will reiterate Britain’s “steadfast support” to help secure the ceasefire and deliver humanitarian aid.

(JTA) — Hundreds of thousands of Israelis poured into Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Saturday night in what everyone present was hoping would be the final vigil on behalf of the hostages taken to Gaza two years ago.

Massive posters showing the 48 hostages expected to be returned imminently, 20 alive, under the terms of a ceasefire struck on Friday, surrounded the square. Demonstrators carried signs thanking U.S. President Donald Trump, who pressed for the deal. And hostage families described their excitement at finally being able to reunite with their loved ones — and their grief at preparing to receive their loved ones’ remains.

Some of the stars of the rally were three American Jews — Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump — who played a role in pushing negotiations between Israel and Hamas over the finish line.

Witkoff was visibly emotional. “I dreamed of this night. It’s been a long journey. This is the most powerful sight,” Trump’s Middle East envoy told the crowd. “All of our hearts beating as one.”

When Witkoff thanked Trump, loud cheers resounded. But when he mentioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the crowd booed. Multiple times, he had to ask to be allowed to go on before saying, “I was in the trenches with the prime minister, believe me, he was a very important part.”

Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for prolonging the war and the hostages’ captivity, a sentiment that independent reporting has supported and that Trump reportedly expressed privately at times in the course of negotiating an end to the war.

Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, followed, praising Witkoff, thanking the Israeli soldiers who fought in Gaza and describing his own reaction to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Kushner, who has significant business interests and relations across the Middle East, also was the only speaker to mention Gazans who also experienced two years of war after Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza.

“October 7, for me, was a shattering day,” he said. “Since then, my heart has not been complete, and it’s been a tremendous burden that I felt to see these hostages come home, to see their families get the closure they deserve and to end this nightmare – and also to see the suffering end for the people in Gaza, who, for most of them, were experiencing this through no fault of their own, other than being born into a situation that was horrific.”

Kushner’s wife, Trump’s daughter Ivanka, also addressed the crowd, saying that her father had a message he wanted to pass on. “The president wanted me to share, as he has with so many of you personally, that he sees you, he hears you, he stands with you always, always,” she said.

Trump repeatedly cited the crowd sizes in Tel Aviv as evidence that the Israeli people wanted to make a deal to end the war and bring the hostages home. (Polls easily supported the idea.)

The 20 living hostages and some number of deceased hostages are set to be returned on Monday morning, after Hamas said it had amassed them at three points within Gaza.

Earlier in the day, Witkoff had told hostage families that there was concern that Hamas would not be able to locate all of the bodies of the hostages who had been killed. Some family members exhorted the crowd to keep demonstrating until all of the deceased hostages had been returned, too.

And even those who are preparing to reunite with their loved ones after two years said they could not totally celebrate. “This is not a happy event,” Itzik Horn, whose son Eitan is set to be released alive, eight months after his brother Iair was freed, told the crowd. “This is the end of the cursed day in the history of the state — Israeli citizens are returning to their country after being abandoned.”

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