RAMALLAH, Monday, May 13, 2024 (WAFA) – Thousands of demonstrators participated in the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne in two massive demonstrations in support of Palestine and to protest the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Demonstrators raised the Palestinian flag and demanded an end to military operations in the city of Rafah.

The demonstrators also raised banners reading: “Zionism is racist and racism is fascism” and “Boycott the apartheid regime in Israel.”

Despite mounting international warnings about expanding military operations in Rafah, the Israeli occupation forces called on Saturday morning for the displacement of civilians from different neighborhoods in the city “immediately.” 

For the seventh day in a row, the occupation forces continue to close the Rafah crossing, which led to a complete halt to the movement of passengers, especially the sick and wounded, and the entry of humanitarian aid, or the transfer of accumulated aid to the people of the Gaza Strip in the southern and northern areas.

The Rafah land crossing is considered a lifeline for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and the only land crossing for the entry of aid and the evacuation of the injured individuals.

According to local sources, this incursion and its tight control means deprivation of food and medical aid.

The occupation forces also continue to close the Kerem Abu Salem crossing for the eleventh day in a row, with a complete halt to the entry of aid.

Y.S