Pro-Palestine protesters climb onto the roof of the Australian Parliament

Television footage on Thursday showed pro-Gaza protesters on the roof of the Australian parliament building in Canberra, accusing Israel of committing war crimes.

The footage showed four people wearing dark clothes on the roof of the building, holding up black banners, including one that read, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."

One of the protesters accused the Israeli government over a loudspeaker of committing war crimes. "We will not forget, we will not forgive, and we will continue to resist," the protester said.

A Reuters witness said several police and security personnel advised people not to walk directly under the protest area at the main entrance to the building, but police did not appear to have tried to remove the protesters.

However, in a post on the X platform, Home Affairs spokesman James Patterson described the protest as a "serious breach of the security of Parliament". He said that "the building has undergone a major renovation to prevent such breaches", stressing the need for an investigation.