‘Terrorist atrocity’: Australia marks anniversary of October 7 attacks

Anthony Albanese has made a vow to Jewish Australians as the world marks the anniversary of Hamas’ brutal October 7 terrorist attacks.

Anthony Albanese has made a vow to Jewish Australians to never let history repeat itself as the country marks the anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza, killed 1200 in its unprecedented assault one year ago.

Militants took hundreds more hostage as they retreated into the Palestinian territory.

In a video statement, the Prime Minister reflected on the date, calling it “a day that carries terrible pain”.

“On the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks, we pause to reflect on the horrific terrorist atrocity that reverberated around the globe,” Mr Albanese said.

“We unequivocally condemn Hamas’ actions on that day.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reflects on the anniversary of Hamas' terrorist attacks on Israel.

“Innocent lives taken at a music festival, women, men and children killed in their homes, brutality that was inflicted with cold calculation.”

He said anti-Semitism had haunted the Jewish community over the past year.

“Since the atrocities of October 7, Jewish Australians have felt the cold shadows of anti-Semitism reaching into the present day and as a nation, we say, never again,” Mr Albanese said.

“We unequivocally condemn all prejudice and hatred. There is no place in Australia for discrimination against people of any faith.”

Vigils have been taking place across Australia as people mourn those killed in the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.

Peter Dutton said the date marked a “day of depravity” in a social media post, warning that Hamas’ attacks “awoke and exposed an anti-Semitic rot afflicting Western democracies”.

The last 12 months constitute one of the most difficult periods for Jewish Australians in our nation’s history.

Together today, we pay our respects to the memories of the 1,200 innocent people murdered on October 7.

We pray for the hostages still held by Hamas and we grieve… pic.twitter.com/f9f0OsAZKQ

— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) October 6, 2024

“Israel has every right to defend its territory and its people from existential threats,” the Opposition Leader said.

He said the Coalition stood with Israel “rather than treating her like an adversary”, in a thinly veiled shot at the Albanese government, which has maintained calls for a ceasefire.

“We support Australians of Jewish faith – because you are cherished Australian citizens,” Mr Dutton said.

To mark the anniversary, Jewish community groups will hold vigils all across Australia.

In Sydney, a highly criticised and unauthorised vigil organised by Palestine Action Group (PAG) will also take place at noon.

The events were criticised by Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Alex Ryvchin. He said the Jewish community should have been allowed to grieve the anniversary of the October 7 attacks without counter protests.

“We’ve never opposed the right of Australians to assemble to express political views, even abhorrent political views,” he said.

“We simply ask these people to leave this one day alone, to let this day be a day of mourning and commemoration for the Jewish people and the decency of this country.”

However, he said he knew the requests would be ignored despite the PAG drawing condemnation from both sides of the political divide.

“We knew that this was an idle request on our part. They would never hear that. They would never listen,” said Mr Ryvchin.

“As I said, when you’re dealing with fanatics, the only form of protest they understand to provoke divide, to inflame.”

More to come