Legal Observers NSW obtained footage and statements from several individuals involved in snap rallies in Wollongong and Sydney on 1 October and 2 October respectively. The rallies were organised spontaneously as a response to Israeli authorities detaining Australian activists on board the Gaza humanitarian flotilla. Neither of the rallies had submitted a notification under the Form 1 system due to the spontaneous nature of their organisation. The following were recorded.
On 1 October police pepper sprayed a 70 year old man, Russell, at a peaceful Palestine rally in Wollongong without warning or opportunity to comply with police directions. Russell was participating in a rally in Wollongong mall, which marched to the intersection at the end of the mall following the route the rally had followed fortnightly since October 2023. When the rally reached the intersection, police charged onto the intersection without any prior warning and began to drag and push participants away from the intersection. Russell was pushed against a lamp-post and was unable to move back any further when a police officer pepper sprayed him into both his eyes, mouth and face at close proximity. Russell was fitted with a heart pacemaker and had previously had eye surgery.
On 2 October at a Palestine rally in Sydney CBD a 60 year old woman, Julie, was thrown to the ground by police while trying to move from the road onto the pavement, fracturing her ankle.
Police refused to call an ambulance for Julie when she asked them to, telling her they were too busy. Rally participants called an ambulance and Julie was taken to RPA Hospital. An Xray at RPA Hospital confirmed that she had sustained a fracture to her right ankle as a result of police pushing her to the ground.
At the same rally on 2 October, police pushed a woman with epilepsy in the chest, causing her to collapse and have a seizure. The woman was filming police at the time and complying with police directions. The woman sustained bruising on her elbow and was unable to move it as a result of the fall. She was taken to hospital in an ambulance following the incident.