Crowd marches through Crown Street in support of Palestine for fourth weekend in a row

Children carried a metres-long list bearing names of Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes outside Wollongong Town Hall on Sunday, as a crowd holding flags and placards listened on to impassioned speeches.

According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry at least 11,078 Palestinians including 4,506 children have died since October 7, when Israel declared war on Hamas after they killed over 1200 people and kidnapped about 200 more during attacks in southern Israel.

Some speakers said this was not a war, but a "genocide".

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery again showed up for the rally, telling the crowd he was "extremely proud" of those who turned out.

"We are not here to generate more hate ... we're just saying the Palestinian people - like all of us in Australia - have rights. Rights to a future, rights to live in peace, rights to find happiness and wealth," he said.

"But we often have it presented that Israel has the right to defend itself.

"Well, why didn't it take the initiative in the first place of making sure that it didn't terrorise a group of people, marginalise a group of people, alienate a group of people, and create the circumstances for terror?

Malik Rashid urged those to boycott companies that supported Israel, contact their local MPs to demand they take a stand, and donate to organisations helping on the ground in Gaza.

"Even though some of the food in the aid trucks have expired due to Israel's illegal food, water and medical blockade, donating is still a worthwhile endeavour because some of those trucks do contain usable necessities," Ms Rashid said.

"And if it saves just one person, then it is worth all the money in the world."

Wollongong Citizen of the Year Sally Stevenson pointed to the rising death tolls and said "anyone with a humanitarian conscience" must call for an immediate ceasefire and for the return of all hostages.

"However far away we are we must connect our humanity to these children, to their pain, and to the Palestinian people," she said.

"Because to Australia's utter shame, our voices calling for an immediate ceasefire have been landing on wilfully deaf ears and wilfully blind eyes.

"Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong, Peter Dutton, David Littleproud - you know that in the last 24 hours, hospitals have been under relentless bombardment ... whilst medical staff and patients are inside."

Read more: Illawarra train enthusiasts celebrate Burra's special milestone

Ms Stevenson said she started working with the world's largest medical humanitarian organisation, Medecins Sans Frontieres, in 1995, and has never seen it so "publicly outraged".

"I've seen war crimes and I've seen crimes against humanity. And I know that MSF only speaks out as a last resort," she said.

"In my 30 years of working with them, I have never, never seen them so publicly outraged, so utterly appalled, so disgusted ... yet so clear in their communication about what is going on right now with a catastrophic genocidal situation in Gaza daily."

The group marched through the lower Crown Street and around the block towards the Wollongong Art Gallery while singing a series of chants, including "in our thousands in our millions we are Palestinians".

Meanwhile Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the "next steps" should be taken towards a ceasefire and urged Israel to act in accordance with international law as hospital bombings continue.

Ms Wong singled out Hamas as a terrorist group and estimated that it holds about 240 Israeli civilians inside Gaza in breach of international law.

Illawarra resident Noor Jarbou encouraged the crowd to keep showing support for Palestinians.

"Please keep up and don't lose hope ... I know it has been more than 35 days," Ms Jarbour said.

"The resistance has been going on for more than 75 years back in Palestine. We are only still at the beginning."

Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.