No place for protest on Oct 7 anniversary: deputy PM

The second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel is not the time for pro-Palestinian demonstrations, senior government figures say, as commemorations for those killed and taken hostage take place nationwide.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said October 7 was a day of remembrance for the Jewish community, not an opportunity for people to protest Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.

“Today is not a day for demonstrations,” he told ABC TV on Tuesday.

“Obviously, this is a very difficult day for the Jewish community in Australia and it is a very solemn day.”

A pro-Palestine vigil will be held in Melbourne on Tuesday evening, while a “united community protest for Gaza” is scheduled to take place in Sydney.

Pro-Palestine rally organisers are also contesting in court a decision by NSW Police to refuse - on public safety grounds - a planned protest at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday.

At a vigil held on Monday in Sydney’s city centre, academic Peter Slezak said his experience as the son of Holocaust survivors informed his solidarity with Palestinians.

“What is called anti-Semitism is really justified moral outrage about what Israel is doing and in the name of Jews,” he told a crowd of hundreds.

Some 1200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage during the Hamas cross-border attack two years ago.

The attack triggered an Israeli military campaign that has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to local health authorities.

Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubinstein said the past two years had weighed heavily on the Jewish community in Australia and around the world.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the world “must never forget the atrocities that were inflicted by Hamas”, which is listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia and by many of its allies.

“We also think of those still held hostage and join with our partners around the world in calling for the hostages to be returned immediately, and with dignity,” he said.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the cross-border attack resonated beyond Israel.

“Two years ago, the world was changed as one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in modern history was perpetrated against the people of Israel,” she said.

She paid tribute to those killed, including Australian Galit Carbone, whose brother Danny Majzner - a survivor of the October 7 attack - is expected to be at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday.

Hamas officials and an Israeli delegation are in Egypt for renewed negotiations, sparking hopes for a ceasefire after US President Donald Trump announced a 20-point peace plan last week.

Mr Albanese welcomed Mr Trump’s efforts, saying Australia wanted to “see a just and lasting peace in the Middle East”.

Mr Marles said officials were providing consular assistance to seven Australians who were detained by Israel when a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza was intercepted.

Australian authorities have made representations to Israel about the welfare and treatment of the detainees, after claims by the Global Movement to Gaza that they faced threats of sexual violence, physical assault and verbal intimidation.

Israel has denied claims of mistreatment.