Israeli officials have hit out at Australia after tens of thousands of people marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday to demand an end to the war in Gaza.
The protesters, including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, braved bad weather and demands by police to cancel the demonstration, with at least 90,000 people attending the march.
Protests have taken place across the world against Israel's starvation siege on Gaza, which has seen Palestinian children die of malnutrition.
Following the protest, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar wrote on X: "The distorted alliance between the radical left and fundamentalist Islam is sadly dragging the West toward the sidelines of history".
He went on to call the protesters, many of whom had travelled from around the country to attend, "radical" and said that Islam was the "world’s largest exporter of terror".
Opposition leader Yair Lapid further attacked the protesters, saying they "marched under the flags of the Taliban and al-Qaeda".
"Do you realise you protested in support of the killing of LGBTQ people, the beating and oppression of women, sexual assault as a weapon of war and the kidnapping of children," he wrote about those calling for an end to the war.
The majority of demonstrators were carrying posters calling for an end to the war and signs highlighting Israel’s forced starvation of the population.
According to reports, Australia’s assistant minister for foreign affairs, Matt Thistlethwaite, said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was seeking a phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu, due to the "provocative" display of an image of Ayatollah Khamenei at the demonstration.
"I don't believe that people should have been displaying photos of the Ayatollah Khamenei. I think that's provocative," he told Sky News.
"Nonetheless, Australians have the right to protest and, as long as you do it peacefully and in accordance with the law, which is what occurred on the weekend, then every Australian has the right to protest," he added.
The protest comes as Australia faces growing pressure to recognise a Palestinian state, after Canada, France and the UK announced they would do so at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
However, Prime Minister Albanese reiterated he wants to see Israel's security guaranteed before committing to recognising a Palestinian state and emphasised he wouldn’t be pressured into making the move by other nations’ decision.
The protest in Australia coincides with the death toll in Gaza topping 60,000 people, while malnutrition soars in the enclave.
Leading international rights groups, including Amnesty International, have determined that the war constitutes genocide.