The bombing of Gaza has only incited more rage and a hunger for justice across the world, the father of Julian Assange has warned.
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John Shipton addressed thousands of people gathered for a pro-Palestine rally outside the State Library of Victoria on Sunday.
He listed the casualties from other conflicts in the Middle East, saying there was a cloud of grief and rage over the region that had only grown since the war in Gaza.
"Soil watered with the blood of precious children over the last 36 days - what do they expect will grow from that soil?" he asked the crowd.
"I can tell you - rage, a hunger for justice that's swept around the globe and embraced every human being that is sentient enough to have sympathy for another."
The Melbourne protest was the latest demonstration held in capital cities across Australia since the war started in Israel and Gaza.
Hamas, considered a terrorist organisation by the Australian government, launched an attack on Israel on October 7, killing about 1200 people and taking more than 220 hostages.
In response, Israel has bombarded Gaza, killing more than 12,000 people, 5000 of them children.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi also addressed the Melbourne crowd before protesters marched to Treasury Gardens.
She said the federal government must denounce what she described as the "genocide" in Gaza.
"Bloody hell - they can't even bring themselves to join the chorus of nations that are calling for a ceasefire," Ms Faruqi told the crowd.
"Shame on them ... we will not shut up."
Other pro-Palestine rallies were held on Sunday in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Thousands also gathered at Sydney's Hyde Park where chants for a free Palestine rang out before the crowd marched through the city centre.
NSW Police confirmed no arrests were made at the demonstration.
Also in Brisbane, hundreds of people attended a pro-Israel rally where right-wing activist Avi Yemini spoke and a group of men performed a haka.
On Saturday, the federal government announced fresh sanctions against a number of Hamas members, operatives and financial facilitators, as well as a currency exchange owned by one individual.
The Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council said the announcement was a "step in the right direction".
"The war in Gaza is under way because Israel has to urgently remove Hamas' ability to wage war against Israelis and also give Palestinians living under its tyrannical rule in Gaza a chance at a better future," the council's executive director Colin Rubenstein said.
Federal Liberal backbencher Julian Leeser, who represents the Sydney seat of Berowra, has urged the NSW government to stop pro-Palestinian road convoys in the state.
He said the vehicle protests created fear in Jewish suburbs and inflamed political and religious tensions.
But Roads Minister John Graham said while Mr Leeser, a Jewish man, was an "outstanding MP", the government did not plan to intervene with people legally driving across the city.
"The government is not keen to restrict movement across the city (but) we are strongly in favour of strengthening the rules around vilification and hate speech," he told reporters.
Australian Associated Press
