Australia may join more than a dozen other nations in recognising the state of Palestine.Tens of thousands of demonstrators have marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, calling for peace and aid deliveries in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis of man-made starvation has been worsening as a result of Israel’s punishing blockade.Pro-Palestinian protesters braved heavy winds and rain on Sunday to march across the bridge, chanting “Ceasefire Now” and “Free Palestine”. Some of those attending the march, which the organisers dubbed the “March for Humanity”, carried pots and pans as symbols of the forced starvation wracking Gaza. Demonstrators including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (third from left, wearing red tie) cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a pro-Palestinian rally against Israel’s actions and the ongoing food shortages in the Gaza Strip in Sydney, Australia on August 3, 2025 [David Gray/AFP]The protest came less than a week after a joint statement by Australia and more than a dozen other nations expressed the “willingness or the positive consideration … to recognise the state of Palestine as an essential step towards the two-State solution”.France, Britain and Canada have in recent weeks voiced, and in some cases qualified, intentions to diplomatically recognise a Palestinian state as international concern and criticism have grown over the hunger crisis in Gaza.At least 175 people, including 93 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition across the territory since Israel launched its war on Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, according to the latest Gaza Health Ministry figures.Australia has called for an end to the war in Gaza, but has so far stopped short of a decision to recognise a Palestinian state. Advertisement Police said that up to 90,000 people had attended the protes …
