A little girl and boy are passing time by drawing with chalk on the footpath outside Anthony Albanese’s Sydney electorate office.
They sit in front of a corflute of the prime minister with a pink shoe stuck to a picture of his face.
Palestinian flags are attached to a hedge, a wall, and a makeshift pole out the front of the office.
There is a row of chairs constantly occupied, with participants withstanding severe heat, rain and often exhaustion, in a bid to get a meeting with the prime minister to share their concerns over the war in Gaza.
A makeshift sit-in outside of Anthony Albanese's Marrickville office has become a 24/7 protest action. Credit: Families for Palestine
The participants, many of whom don't personally know each other, are motivated to collaborate by their commitment to the cause.
One of the organisers, Sarah Shaweesh, says hundreds of people have taken part in the action, which has continued nonstop for the past week.
"People are sleeping overnight. There are people during the day," she told SBS News.
The group say Anthony Albanese "used to be a friend of Palestine". Credit: Families for Palestine
She said Families for Palestine, the group behind the picket and a local parents group, had been coming every Thursday for the past four months and sitting on the bench outside the office.
They then decided to ramp up the movement with a 24/7 sit-in.
"We have done everything that we could — we have sent emails, we did phone calls, we have sat outside weekly for four months and we haven’t seen attention from Anthony to our demands," Shaweesh said.
Anthony Albanese must 'remember who he used to be'
Shaweesh referred to videos of Albanese early in his parliamentary career showing him at a protest in support of Palestinians.
"Anthony Albanese was one of us. Twenty, 30 years ago he used to take to the streets of Sydney," Shaweesh said.
"We have videos of him protesting and calling himself a friend of Palestine.
"Many people when it came to the election voted him in because they believed in his work.
"He … needs to … remember who he used to be — he was a founding member of (Parliamentary) Friends for Palestine."
She said the group was demanding the government call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a restoration to funding for the Palestinian aid agency UNWRA, and an end to support for Israel.
SBS contacted the PM's office for comment but is yet to receive a response.
Albanese, Wong have expressed concern over planned Rafah attack
Israel has bombarded Gaza since in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 28,985 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, the majority of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Last week, saying Australia, along with 152 other nations, had called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, referring to a United Nations vote in December.
"Many of Israel’s friends, including Australia, have expressed deep concerns about reports of an Israeli military operation in Rafah. There is growing international consensus: Israel must listen to its friends and it must listen to the international community," she said in a statement.
"There are more than a million civilians sheltering in and around Rafah. Many civilians who were displaced in Israeli operations in the north have moved south to this area, often under Israeli direction. Israel now must exercise special care in relation to these civilians.
Not doing so would have devastating consequences for those civilians and cause serious harm to Israel’s own interests.”
Albanese has repeatedly , saying there was nowhere for civilians to go.
"The consequences of an invasion are dire," Albanese said.
Peter Dutton has backed Israel's war on Hamas as the nation prepares for a major ground offensive at Rafah in southern Gaza.
The federal Opposition leader made the remarks in response to a joint leaders' statement from Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Dutton said Hamas was to blame for the tragedy.
"We want an end to the conflict as quickly as possible but that can't happen until the terrorists release those children in particular, those women, and the other hostages."
- With additional reporting from AAP
