Australia pledges Gaza aid
Sydney (dpa) — The Australian government on Monday pledged further humanitarian aid for women and children in Gaza, a day after some 90,000 demonstrators marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to highlight conditions in the war-ravaged region.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced an additional $20 million Australian ($13 million US) in humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, bringing Australia’s total pledge to “more than $130 million to help civilians in Gaza and Lebanon” since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that triggered the Gaza war.
Wong said the decision follows the announcement of new humanitarian corridors by Israel amid the dire humanitarian situation in the territory.
The move came one day after thousands of people thronged the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge in pouring rain and windy conditions to protest against Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and draw attention to the humanitarian crisis.
NSW Police Acting Commissioner Peter McKenna said that the protest’s attendance was estimated at about 90,000 people and described the crowd as the largest he had ever seen on the iconic bridge.
Organizers put that figure at between 200,000 and 300,000 people, according to local media. Thousands more joined pro-Palestinian protests in Melbourne and Sydney on Sunday.
According to the United Nations, the Gaza Strip is on the brink of famine. Israel controls all access points to the coastal territory on the Mediterranean and, for several months, has allowed little or no aid deliveries to pass through.
Israel said this was intended to increase pressure on the militant Palestinian organization Hamas to release the last of the hostages abducted in October 2023.
Over the past week, following growing global criticism of the dire situation faced by the Palestinian civilian population, Israel has allowed larger deliveries via land routes and supported airdrops of aid by allied nations.
More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza conflict according to the health authority controlled by Hamas.
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