Candlelight vigils mark October 7 anniversary across Australia

Thousands of people are expected to join candlelight vigils across Australia tonight to commemorate the anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel, which sparked an ongoing multi-front conflict in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to attend a vigil in Melbourne and has urged against any protest activity.

It comes as multiple pro-Palestine rallies are also expected to take place in several cities.

Pro-Palestine supporters in Sydney’s CBD have called their gathering a ”static assembly” rather than a protest after organisers reached an agreement with NSW Police, who had sought to stop the gathering in court.

There has also been a solemn vigil to mark October 7 on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra.

On this date last year, Hamas-led militants swarmed across the Israeli border and attacked multiple targets including small communities and a music festival, killing 1200 people, mostly civilians.

A further 240 were kidnapped as hostages.

The attack prompted a major military response from Israel, with airstrikes and ground operations devastating Gaza and killing an estimated 40,000-plus people.

Dozens of Israelis are believed to be still held hostage by Hamas.

Israel also opened up a new front against Hezbollah in Lebanon last week after months of the terrorist group firing rockets into northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas.

Former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg gathered at a Jewish aged care facility today, where he told a tearful crowd that the world was in a battle of good versus evil.

“A year ago, my life changed, and your life changed forever,” he said.

Sydney’s Jewish community also gathered at Bondi Beach this morning to mark the solemn occasion.

“A process of mourning is not just a ritual. It is a profound expression of who we are as Jews,” one faith leader said.

The pro-Palestine gathering has sparked controversy, though a large protest in Sydney yesterday was mostly peaceful, with one person arrested.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today issued a statement commemorating the anniversary of the attacks.

“October 7 is a day that carries terrible pain,” he said.

“Over 1200 innocent Israelis died: the largest loss of Jewish life on any single day since the Holocaust.

“We unequivocally condemn Hamas’ actions on that day.”

Albanese also condemned the “cold shadows of antisemitism” that he said were hurting Jewish Australians in the present day.

“We unequivocally condemn all prejudice and hatred,” he said.

“There is no place in Australia for discrimination against people of any faith.”

He also obliquely addressed the ongoing wider war that erupted in response to the attack.

“As we mourn and reflect, we also re-affirm a fundamental principle of our shared humanity: every innocent life matters,” he said.

“We recognise the distress the conflict has caused here in Australia. Sorrow knows no boundaries and recognises no differences.

“The number of civilians who have lost their lives is a devastating tragedy.”