Aftermath of vandalism on the US Consulate in Sydney, Australia, on June 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

The US consulate in Sydney, Australia was vandalized on Monday by an unidentified man carrying a sledgehammer who defaced the building in what appeared to be a pro-Hamas demonstration.

A US spokesperson for the consulate confirmed in a statement that Sydney police are investigating the incident after discovering that the windows of the consulate had been struck by a hammer, creating nine holes in the glass, and that two inverted red triangles were spray-painted onto the building.

The inverted red triangle has become a common symbol at pro-Hamas rallies. The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has used inverted red triangles in its propaganda videos to indicate Israeli targets about to be attacked, and anti-Israel protesters on university campuses have been using the symbol in their demonstrations. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), “the red triangle is now used to represent Hamas itself and glorify its use of violence.”

Hamas propaganda showing the targeting of an Israeli tank in Rafah with a red triangle. Photo: Screenshot from X/Twitter

In response to Monday’s attack, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the vandalism, urging anti-Israel protesters to “turn the heat down.”

“I would just say that people should have respectful political debate and discourse,” Albanese said in a televised media conference from Canberra. “Measures such as painting the US consulate do nothing to advance the cause of those who have committed what is of course a crime to damage property.”

Monday was not the first time the US Consulate in Sydney has been vandalized. In April, vandals spray-painted “freee [sic] Palestine” on the side of the consulate.

The party responsible for the latest attack, captured on camera wearing a black hoodie, remains at large. Consular operations have remained unaffected by the incident, according to the US spokesperson.

The vandalism came after a weekend of both pro- and anti-Israel protests across Australia after the rescue of four Israeli hostages from Gaza. About 1,000 pro-Hamas demonstrators gathered in Sydney’s Hyde Park. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, Adam Brandt — the leader of the left-wing Greens Party — declared that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a”“war crime.” Victorian police deployed tear gas to clear out pro-Hamas protesters.

Melbourne is no stranger to such activism. Last year, anti-Israel activists gathered for an angry demonstration outside a hotel in the city, where a delegation of the families of Israelis murdered and abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 were staying, forcing them to evacuate and discuss different security arrangements with police.

However, amid a spike in antisemitic outrages in Australia following the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel, numerous prominent Australians have openly declared support for the Jewish community.

Jacob Frankel is working as an intern for The Algemeiner before heading to law school.