This Thursday, at 7am, a group of women will gather for the 20th monthly Solidarity at Sunrise Breakfast in support of the women and girls in Gaza caught up in a humanitarian tragedy.
Former Wollongong Citizen of the Year, Sally Stevenson, has witnessed the destruction first-hand, when she travelled to the war-torn territory last year on assignment with the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
"The destruction is everywhere, as far as the eye can see, it is in the air that we breathe. There is no safe place in Gaza. For anyone, especially children," Sally told The Guardian on her return.
With the death toll in Gaza now nearing 60,000, Sally says people of the Illawarra have every reason to share her anger and frustration with what has unfolded. She encourages others who care, to stand with her in small but important gestures to show that people do care about the suffering and the needless loss of life.
"So, our small act every fourth Thursday of the month, for the past 20 months, is to gather at sunrise, just north of the North Wollongong Surf Club, in solidarity with Palestinian women here in the Illawarra, and in Gaza and the West Bank, to eat a simple Palestinian breakfast," Sally said.
"To say we are thinking of you. You are not forgotten. And to recharge ourselves with like-minded women striving for peace and justice, arming ourselves for another month of horror by Israel and political inaction in Australia.
"The situation in Gaza can feel so overwhelming, the genocide live-streamed as it is – every day slaughter, war crimes, suffering on our phones, on our screen, burnt into our eyes and consciousness.
"As so often happens with catastrophes, it's hard to know what to do, and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can wash over you far too often. But we believe that everyone can always do something, no matter how small. And these acts – all of them – matter. Acts of solidarity link us to our community, to humanity, and to communities fighting for justice in Palestine and across the globe."
One of the breakfast organisers, Natalie Moran, says: "Palestine has always been at the centre of my politics; it's the litmus test."
Natalie is critical of the "lack of political leadership in this country".
"Why should that bother a mum from Dapto? In Gaza, we've seen hospitals, schools, tents bombed ... the elderly and doctors on duty inside hospitals sniped and people on IV drips burned alive ... none of this is OK.
"As James Baldwin wisely said: 'The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe, and I am strongly beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognising this may be incapable of morality.'
"I want my country to be capable of morality. I want Australia to be better."
Therese Wolfe is a regular attendee at the solidarity breakfasts and says: "People everywhere should care deeply about what's happening in Gaza. This is a humanitarian catastrophe – man-made and deliberate – and the moral crisis of our time.
"We are watching live, the bombing, the terrorising, the starving and the murdering of thousands of innocent men, women, children and babies. Every day.
"There are no words to describe this heartbreaking and appalling situation. I simply cannot understand how anyone can defend, or be OK with, or remain silent, watching the slaughter of so many, no matter where they live."
The next Solidarity at Sunrise Breakfast will take place this Thursday, July 24 from 7am on the grassy hill to the north of North Wollongong Surf Club. These events are for women only and proudly presented by the Illawarra Women's Health Centre, Wollongong Friends of Palestine and the South Coast Labour Council.