Activists arrested after protest at Defence Minister Richard Marles' electorate office

Police said five people at the protest, where demonstrators called for Israel to be disarmed and some chained themselves by their necks, were arrested for trespassing and later released pending summons.

Police forcibly removed some protesters who refused to leave the building. Source: Supplied / Matt Hrkac

Anti-Zionist activists, some chained by the neck to a ladder, protested at Defence Minister Richard Marles' electorate office amid the war between Hamas and Israel.

Demonstrators entered the building on Brougham St in Geelong, about an hour from Melbourne, about 10am on Wednesday.

Victoria Police said five people were arrested and released "pending summons in relation to trespassing."

"They include a 24-year-old Coburg man, a 25-year-old Thornbury man, a 21-year-old Brunswick woman, a 31-year-old Northern Territory woman and a 37-year-old Northern Territory woman," a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

"No one was injured."

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Photos shared on social media showed demonstrators holding signs, including ones that read "Stop the genocide" and "Disarm Israel". Several had also used bike locks to chain themselves by their necks in the reception area.

In a statement released ahead of the protest, organisers, who said anti-Zionist Jewish activists led the protesters, called on Marles and the federal government to "withdraw diplomatic, economic and military support for Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestine".

It comes amid the war between Hamas and Israel that started after the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on 7 October.

Since then, Israel has pounded Gaza, which has been living under blockade by Israel and Egypt since 2007. There have also been reports of ongoing settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The protest started at about 10am on Wednesday at Defence Minister Richard Marles' electorate office in Geelong. Source: Supplied / Matt Hrkac

The significant escalation is the latest in a long-standing conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Hamas is a Palestinian military and political group, gaining power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006.

Its stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state while refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist.

Some protesters chained themselves by their necks. Source: Supplied / Matt Hrkac

Among the protesters was Noemie Huttner-Koros, a Jewish artist and writer who said she was a descendant of Holocaust survivors.

In a statement, Huttner-Koros said, "We want to show Jewish people in the diaspora that we can speak up.

"Jews and Palestinians can and do live together. I see it as my ancestral duty to fight for justice, peace and liberation for all.”

The protest lasted for nearly five hours. Source: Supplied / Matt Hrkac

Marles, who is overseas, said in a statement he was aware of the protest. He said his primary concern was "the safety and wellbeing" of his staff, and added that while peaceful protest was a "fundamental right" it was important protesters acted "safely and appropriately".

"The abuse and destruction of property or goods is not acceptable," Marles said.

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Matt Hrkac, a photographer and filmmaker at the scene, wrote the protest lasted for nearly five hours and ended when police "completely cleared the building".