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While Gaza City residents are either being hounded out of their homes by Israeli helicopters or being shot and killed while trying to access food and aid, Australian Labor has joined the overwhelming majority of countries in recognising Palestine.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the government was to do this immediately after the 300,000-strong protest marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Al Jazeera reports that about 100 Gazans are being killed each day. Dr Nada Abu Alrub, a volunteer doctor from Australia working in Gaza City’s , told Al Jazeera on September 21: “We are hardly surviving and hardly able to help anyone.” “There’s no equipment. They’re down to the very basics, running out of working scissors,” she said. “There’s no soap in the theatre rooms to scrub in, no gloves — nothing at all … “We’re treating patients on the floor, mass casualty after mass casualty.”

Reporter said Israeli forces phone people and tell them to leave immediately. “They don’t get enough time to salvage any of their belongings. So, they’re forced out of their homes. The moment they step outside it’s a totally different reality. It’s very dangerous, very risky — fraught with exposure to aerial surveillance.

“Israel is deploying advanced technology in the air. These quadcopters [unmanned aerial drones] are patrolling within neighbourhoods — they come close to windows and balconies, using loudspeakers with intimidating language to push them from their homes.

“The moment they step outside, they feel like running because they’re being chased by these quadcopters, exposed to aerial surveillance and attacks.”

Meanwhile, protests are continuing worldwide to demand Israel is stopped and the United States stop providing it with weapons and political cover.

On September 19, the  (CGIL) called for a four-hour stop work, with rallies and workplace strikes in at least 11 provinces. The union is demanding all trade and military cooperation with Israel be stopped until the genocide in Gaza ends and the West Bank occupation is lifted.

“Concrete action is needed to lift the humanitarian embargo and recognize the state of Palestine. Governments and international institutions must act immediately to stop what is happening, including convening a UN-sponsored peace conference,” the .

are taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla that set sail from Barcelona, stopped in Tuni and Sicily and is now traversing the Mediterranean Sea, heading to Gaza; are participating in this historic mission to break the illegal siege.

Protests continued across Australia, with several thousand mobilising on Gadigal Country/Sydney on September 21.

Peter Boyle reports that the rally, organised by the Palestine Action Group Sydney, heard from Gazan Australian Shamikh Badra, Judith Treanor, from Jews Against the Occupation ’48, and Australian Services Union NSW and ACT branch secretary Angus McFarland, among others. Another rally and march will be held on September 28 to build a big October 12 mobilisation to mark two years of the Gaza genocide.

Badra, a former resident of Gaza who has lost much of his family during the genocide, told the rally: “On September 16, Israeli occupation began a ground invasion of Gaza city after weeks of bombing. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forced to leave with no safe place to go. Hospitals are collapsing, high buildings have been bombed into rubble, leaving families buried under the ruins.

“These attacks are not random. They are part of a plan to expel Palestinians and continue the process of elimination through the destruction of homes and neighbourhoods, mass killings and forcing people to leave Gaza to complete the ethnic cleansing.

“Yes, Gaza is suffering but Gaza is not defeated. Gaza is still fighting.”

Blue Mountains for Palestine held a street action on September 19 in Katoomba and reported a fantastic response from passing motorists, including truckies.

Jews for Palestine WA occupied the office of Josh Wilson MP for Fremantle on September 19, demanding an end to Labor’s complicity in genocide and climate destruction. They said Australia must sanction Israel now and stop approving new fossil fuel projects. This action was supported by Unionists for Palestine WA, Disrupt Burrup Hub, Freo for Palestine, concerned constituents and former WA Greens Senator Jo Valentine.

Sam Wainwright reports from Boorloo/Perth that about 400 people gathered in Walyalup (Fremantle) on September 21, the UN’s International Day of Peace, to call for the cancellation of AUKUS and for federal Labor to impose immediate sanctions on Israel. The Stirling Naval Base on Garden Island, less than 40 kilometres from the centre of Fremantle, is the proposed west coast base for increased US and British nuclear submarine visits and the AUKUS-class submarines.

The event, co-chaired by Janet Parker from Jews for Palestine and Greens MLC Sophie McNeil, was sponsored by Stop AUKUS WA, Friends of Palestine, Jews for Palestine, Unionists for Palestine and International and Peaceful Network Australia. Short speeches in Pioneer Park, opposite Fremantle station, were followed by a spirited march through the city streets to the Fremantle Esplanade for some more speeches and music.

On the same day, a protest organised by Free Palestine Naarm brought several thousand people into the streets to call for an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, and the genocide in Gaza.

Jordan Shukri AK Armaou-Massoud reports that the protesters marched from the State Library to parliament, stopping at the Collins Street office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The rally was chaired by Mai Saif and Muayad Ali. Speakers included Tasnim Sammak from Free Palestine Coalition Naarm; councillor Rhonda Garad from the City of Greater Dandenong; Gideon Polya; Eman, a local Palestinian artist and educator; and Margie Beavis from Medical Association for Prevention of War.

A community picket of Bisalloy Steel in Undanderra in Wollongong, which started on September 21, prevented workers from starting production for two shifts. The picket, which held strong overnight, includes families, musicians and others concerned about Australia being complicit in the genocide in Gaza.

Tom Vogt reports the mood was festive, with teach-ins organised as well. Security had a problem with a couch blocking Gate 3, which was quickly resolved. One picketer reported being followed by police when they left at 4.20am and was stopped for driving too slowly, then breathalysed and tested for drugs — both of which were negative. They returned to the picket line and told everyone about it, before more police started to arrive from 6am on September 22.