Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warns against ‘provocative’ pro-Palestine protests on October 7

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is warning pro-Palestine supporters against staging protests on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.

Mr Albanese said any gathering on Monday that appeared to celebrate the massacre of more than 1000 Israelis would be “incredibly provocative” and would cause a “great deal of distress”.

“October 7 – I think that people should recognise the sensitivity which is there and have a bit of common sense and see whether their cause will be advanced or whether it will be set back,” Mr Albanese told ABC Melbourne.

“My view is there is nothing to be served by that.”

Mr Albanese also condemned Iran after it fired a barrage of missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

The attack comes a day after Israel commenced a “target” ground invasion of Lebanon, vowing to dismantle Hezbollah and its ability to attack Israel and its citizens.

Mr Albanese stopped short of saying the Israel-Gaza conflict had now descended into a “regional war”.

“What you have is a tragedy,” he said.

“There was the terrorist actions, of course, almost a year ago now of Hamas on October 7 that were rightly condemned throughout the world.

“Then we’ve seen too many innocent civilians lose their lives, whether they be Israelis, Palestinians or Lebanese. There does, at some point, need to be a diplomatic solution here.”

Tensions have risen in the Middle East and domestically in Australia after the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Pro-Palestine protestors sparked outrage after waving Hezbollah flags and holding photos glorifying the terrorist leader during rallies in Sydney and Melbourne over the weekend.

Asked on Wednesday if he supported police attempts to block rallies planned for this weekend and October 7, Mr Albanese said: “I support the rule of law”.

“I support the police in whatever action they’ve taken. But they take assessments independently of Government based upon what they think is their assessment of keeping the peace.

“And I think it’s an absolutely reasonable position to take.”