Australia has announced an additional $20 million in humanitarian aid for women and children in war-ravaged Gaza, following nationwide protests that drew more than 100,000 people demanding urgent action.
The new funding, revealed by the federal government on Sunday, will be directed to organisations capable of delivering lifesaving food, medical supplies and other essential support. The pledge follows dramatic scenes in Sydney, where an estimated 90,000 people turned the Harbour Bridge into a sea of Palestinian flags, with major solidarity rallies also held in Melbourne and Adelaide.
The package includes:
• $6 million for the UN World Food Programme to provide and distribute food,
• $5 million for UNICEF to support nutrition for children facing starvation,
• $5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross for health and humanitarian needs,
• $2 million for a joint relief initiative with the UK, and
• $2 million to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation for medical supplies and field hospitals.
This latest commitment brings Australia’s total humanitarian aid for Gaza and Lebanon since the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel, on 7 October 2023, to $130 million.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia has “consistently been part of the international call on Israel to allow a full and immediate resumption of aid to Gaza.”
“The suffering and starvation of civilians in Gaza must end,” she said.
“Australia will continue to work with the international community to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages and a two-state solution—the only path to enduring peace and security for the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has signalled that Australia may follow other global powers in recognising a Palestinian state. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently said the UK would do so unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire and allowed more humanitarian aid into Gaza. France and Canada have already moved in that direction ahead of the September UN General Assembly.
Albanese said it was a matter of “when, not if” Australia recognises Palestine, reiterating Labor’s long-standing support for a two-state solution. However, any such move would be conditional on Hamas stepping away from governance, given it is listed as a terrorist organisation by Australia.
Israel’s Ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, did not directly comment on Sunday’s rallies, but posted on LinkedIn an image from the Sydney march prominently showing a placard of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, hinting at alleged Islamist sympathies.
Melbourne-based academic Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert expressed strong concern over the presence of a large portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei at the Sydney Gaza rally. While affirming her support for the right to protest and to call for an end to the war in Gaza.
She wrote, “It was profoundly disturbing to see an enormous portrait of mass-murdering Iranian dictator Ayatollah Khamenei, holding a rifle no less, positioned directly behind the group of prominent Australians leading the march.”
She questioned whether the front-line protesters or their advisers were aware of the image’s placement, describing it as “positioned as it was to ensure maximum media coverage and, for Khamenei and the Iranian regime, maximum propaganda value.”
Recalling her time in solitary confinement in Iran, Moore-Gilbert noted,
“This same image of Khamenei + rifle became one of the core propaganda motifs splashed across IRIB state media… For me, it was triggering (pun intended) and I can’t imagine how upsetting it must have been for the many thousands of Iranian refugees and other victims of the regime’s brutal violence who now call Australia home.”
She added, “Australians can oppose the starvation and bloodshed in Gaza… without having to make common cause with one of the Middle East’s worst human rights abusers and perpetrators of mass atrocities.” Calling on those pictured near the portrait to denounce its presence, she concluded, “You can be an enemy of Israel without having to make the Iranian regime your friend.”
The Australian Jewish Association (AJA) also condemned the aid package and the protests, writing on X:
“FM PENNY WONG JUST ANNOUNCED MORE AID TO GAZA… Hamas will likely send thanks soon.”
“Hamas, which makes a substantial income from taking free aid and selling it, will likely send thanks soon. This brings the financial contribution to over $130M, which helps relieve the pressure on Hamas.”
They questioned the accountability of aid distribution and shared images from the rally with signs reading “Abolish Australia” and “Kill the IDF”, accusing police of ignoring calls to violence.
The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) echoed concerns, warning against recognising Palestinian statehood prematurely. ZFA president Jeremy Leibler said doing so would “reward Hamas” after its 7 October attack on Israel and argued that statehood “must never be used as a political punishment.”
“Recognition now would also set up any future Palestinian state for failure when the necessary foundations for statehood do not currently exist,”
ZFA said.
“We welcome the Prime Minister’s comments that Australia will not follow other nations in prematurely recognising a Palestinian state. The Government has consistently stated that recognition cannot occur until Hamas is removed from power, all hostages are returned, and the Palestinian Authority is reformed.”
ZFA added: “It’s deeply counterproductive for countries such as Canada, the UK and France to frame recognition of a Palestinian state as a diplomatic reprimand of Israel; state recognition must never be used as a political punishment.”
Prominent academic and film-maker Danny Ben-Moshe also weighed in, condemning the rallies as being more about “hate than human rights.”
“Thousands marched for what was purported to be a protest against hunger in Gaza,” he wrote. “Do not delude yourself for one moment that these were marches for peace, not when participants chanted “From the river to the sea” calling for the erasure of a UN sovereign state and the genocide of its Jewish population.”
“This is not a matter of interpretation. With placards “Kill the IDF” – it seems people can now call for murder with impunity on the streets of Australia – and pictures held aloft of the Iranian leader who openly advocates genocidal antisemitism not to mention his suppression of women and literal killing of gay people, this was a clear as the sunshine on this sunny Sunday afternoon in Melbourne,” added Ben-Moshe.
While Israel maintains there is no famine in Gaza, international watchdogs and humanitarian agencies accuse Israel of deliberately blocking aid, with some labelling its campaign a genocide.
While the Sunday protests may have influenced Canberra’s latest aid announcement, the debate over how Australia engages with this conflict—and whether it should recognise Palestinian statehood—remains fiercely polarised.
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