Lining the kerbside at Victoria Park Lake, community members stood with signs covered with confronting photos of civilians killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Some of the signs read: ‘To stand with Palestine is to stand with humanity’, ‘Stop the genocide’ and ‘Free Palestine’.
They were protesting Israel’s violence against innocent Palestinians in Gaza.
They were asking for a ceasefire.
And above all, they were asking for the Federal Government to make a stand and condemn Israel’s actions.
This protest occurred on Tuesday, November 7, just over two weeks since the initial rally on October 21.
Both protests attracted crowds of over 200 people.
Powerful speeches were made, people driving past honked their horns in support and many of those walking past stopped to protest or write down their thoughts on the war.
Organiser Hanaa Ahmed was a leading voice in the protest and said the effects of the war had been felt throughout the community.
“I know a family here in Shepparton; they are from Gaza, and all their family are back in Gaza,” Dr Ahmed said.
“Many of their family members have passed away, and one of my friends back home is Palestinian, and he lost 14 members of his family as well.
“It is really getting tiring for all of us here that can see the videos shared through the people we know over there — they are really suffering.”
Since November 3, attacks on hospitals, healthcare personnel and transport in northern Gaza have taken place.
As of Tuesday, November 13, the World Health Organization had recorded 137 attacks on healthcare in Gaza, which had resulted in 521 deaths and 686 injuries, including 16 deaths and eight injuries of healthcare workers on duty.
Over the weekend, Israel gave orders for the evacuation of 22 hospitals in northern Gaza, claiming Hamas was using hospitals as command centres, which Hamas has denied.
The total number of patients treated in these hospitals is more than 2000.
This has left medical staff with the impossible choice of either risking their patients’ lives to transport them to hospitals in southern Gaza, leaving the most terminally ill patients behind or putting their own lives at risk to stay back and treat patients.
Dr Ahmed said the recent attacks on healthcare facilities and personnel only further highlighted the seriousness of this humanitarian crisis.
“I have a few healthcare professionals working at Al-Shifa hospital, and unfortunately, they have been working for the past three to four weeks without any rest,” Dr Ahmed said.
“Some of them have lost their families — it is a heartbreaking thing, and I cannot imagine how the world is so violent and how the world can keep being blind and not seeing what is happening.
The WHO has condemned these attacks and Israel’s orders to evacuate patients, saying they would worsen what was already a “humanitarian and public health catastrophe”.
It is prohibited under International Humanitarian Law to deny people the human right of access to life-saving healthcare.
The death toll of Palestinians as of Wednesday, November 15 exceeded 12,000.
The official death toll from Hamas’ attacks on October 7 was more than 1200.
Dr Ahmed said as long as these attacks continued, protesters would continue to speak out.
“We are asking for the Australian Government to look at the human rights, to look at the international criminal law and that whatever is happening in Gaza now is against humanitarian standards,” Dr Ahmed said.
“We ask the Australian Government to stop supporting Israel and being silent, and they need to ask for a ceasefire now.
“We have been feeling secure as Australian citizens, but we will be proud of the Australian Government if they support the poor, needy people.”