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Violence erupts as anti-Israel protesters target president’s Australia visit weeks after Bondi Beach massacre

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Violence erupts as anti-Israel protesters target president’s Australia visit weeks after Bondi Beach massacre

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Police clashed with anti-Israel demonstrators in Sydney during protests against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia, prompting national leaders to urge calm and call for demonstrations to remain peaceful. 

Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for allegedly assaulting officers, after violence broke out Monday evening when authorities moved to clear thousands of protesters gathered near Sydney’s Town Hall.

The unrest unfolded as Herzog arrived in Australia for a visit centered on solidarity with the Jewish community after the Dec. 14 terror attack at a Hanukkah event in Bondi Beach that killed 15 people.

FORMER AUSTRALIAN MINISTER SAYS ‘RADICAL ISLAM PULLED THE TRIGGER’ IN AUSTRALIA’S WORST TERROR ATTACK

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Police detain a protester during a protest against the visit of Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on Feb. 9, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Izhar Khan/Getty Images)

Herzog traveled to Bondi during the trip, where he met bereaved families and participated in memorial events honoring the victims. In a post on X, he wrote, “Together with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the community’s leader, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, bereaved families, and members of the Jewish community, we united in memory of the 15 victims of the Bondi terror attacks. The terrorists sought to instill fear in the Jewish people—and we respond with renewed Jewish pride, by choosing life and hope.”

Herzog also warned of rising antisemitism during the visit, calling it a global emergency and defending Israel’s actions in Gaza when asked about the protests.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attend a service to meet with victims of the Bondi shooting attack and members of the community, at the Chabad of Bondi, in Sydney, Australia, Feb. 10, 2026.  (Wolter Peeters /Pool via Reuters)

Demonstrations opposing Israel’s war in Gaza and Herzog’s presence erupted across Australia, with the largest confrontation unfolding in Sydney. Authorities imposed restrictions on protest routes and used pepper spray to disperse crowds after tensions escalated.

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Police said officers were met with violence and acted to maintain order, while protesters and some politicians accused authorities of excessive force.

Talking to Sky News Australia, former Australian Jewish Association president David Adler called the violence “a disgraceful display,” noting that Australia has a system of law and order and that a court decision establishing an exclusion zone for the protests was ignored by the “radical activists,” which “left the police with an impossible situation.”

Commenting on Sydney police actions against the agitators, Adler said there was some “rejoicing in our community to finally see a bit of pushback from the New South Wales police, because, for two years and a half, almost, there’s been a lack of law enforcement when it comes to the incitement, the antisemitism and we’ve seen the emboldenment and the dreadful incidents which have occurred right across the country culminating (on Dec. 14) with the massacre at Bondi Beach. So maybe we’ve seen a little bit of a flicker of pushback in law enforcement, which we certainly welcome,” he said.

AUSTRALIA BANS PRO-ISRAEL INFLUENCER WEEKS AFTER BONDI BEACH TERROR ATTACK

Police face off with anti-Israel protesters during a demonstration against the visit of Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on Feb. 9, 2026 in Sydney, Australia.  (Izhar Khan/Getty Images)

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Andrew Wallace, a member of parliament said, “Australians who live in a democracy have a right to protest peacefully and lawfully,” Wallace told Sky News, “What we saw last night was not peaceful, and it certainly was not in accordance with directions given by police.”

Australian leaders called for restraint and warned against importing overseas conflict into domestic streets.

Mourners place flowers at a memorial at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia Dec. 15, 2025. Australia is in mourning after gunmen opened fire on Bondi Beach, an attack designed to target the Jewish community.  (AAP/Bianca De Marchi via Reuters)

A timeline compiled by the American Jewish Committee notes that the December Bondi Beach attack came after a sustained rise in anti-Jewish threats and violence across Australia, including vandalism of synagogues and Jewish schools, arson attacks and public harassment since Oct. 2023. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry documented more than 1,600 anti-Jewish incidents between Oct. 2024 and Sept. 2025, following more than 2,000 incidents the previous year.

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Israeli leaders have pointed to the Bondi attack as evidence of growing risks facing Jewish communities abroad and have criticized Australian authorities for failing to prevent the terrorist attack.

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Pakistan calls troops, orders 3-day curfew as 24 killed in pro-Iran rallies

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Pakistan calls troops, orders 3-day curfew as 24 killed in pro-Iran rallies

Army deployed and some areas in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region put under curfew after deadly violence over Khamenei’s killing.

Pakistan has called in the military and imposed a three-day curfew in some areas following deadly protests over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint United States-Israeli attack on Saturday.

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At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces across the country on Sunday, prompting authorities to tighten security around the US embassy and consulates.

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The curfew was imposed before dawn Monday in the districts of Gilgit, Skurdu, and Shigar in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, where at least 12 protesters and one security officer were killed and dozens of others wounded during confrontations, according to an official statement.

Of those, seven were killed in Gilgit, a rescue official said, while six others died in Skardu, a doctor told AFP news agency on Monday.

Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday attacked the offices of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the ceasefire along the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the UN Development Programme in Skardu city.

Protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit, according to officials.

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UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday said protesters became violent near the UNMOGIP Field Station, which was vandalised.

“The safety and security of UN personnel and premises throughout the region remain our top priority, and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.

Shabir Mir, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, said the situation was under control and that the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday. Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay indoors, citing “deteriorating law and order conditions”.

In the southern port city of Karachi, the country’s commercial hub, 10 people were killed and more than 60 injured during a protest outside the US consulate.

Two additional protesters were killed in the capital, Islamabad, while heading towards the US embassy.

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Pakistani authorities have beefed up security at US diplomatic missions across the country, including around the US consulate building in Peshawar, to avoid any further violence.

The US embassy and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore cancelled visa appointments and American Citizen Services on Monday, citing security concerns.

The federal government warned that the situation could further deteriorate amid large-scale demonstrations condemning Khamenei’s killing on Saturday.

Tehran has responded with a series of drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries.

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Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

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Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.
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Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

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Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

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The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

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Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

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Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

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