Hundreds of students protest for Palestine in Melbourne

Hundreds of high school students rallying in support of Palestine are now blocking a major road in the heart of Melbourne.

The protest was organised by a group called School Students for Palestine and organisers are incredibly happy with the turnout of school students on Thursday.

Organisers called for protesters to move off of the steps of Flinders St Station and into traffic before they began marching down Swanston Street in Melbourne’s CBD.

The rally has been organised in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East.

Victoria’s Department of Education sent out updated advice to schools advising them not to turn a blind eye to students walking out of classrooms on Tuesday.

Both major parties in Victoria have urged students to stay in school, saying that’s where they should be instead of on the streets of Melbourne protesting today.

The protest received severe criticism from the Jewish community in Victoria which penned an open letter to the Victorian government asking for a harsher crackdown on protests like this, fearing it would cause a further rift between the communities.