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STORY: :: Police open an investigation after the

U.S. consulate in Sydney is vandalized

:: Sydney, Australia

:: June 10, 2024

:: Local media reported it appeared

to be a pro-Palestinian protest

The building, located in the northern suburbs of Australia's largest city, was attacked and sprayed with paint by a person carrying a small sledgehammer at around 3 a.m. (1700GMT Sunday). Local media have it appeared to be a pro-Palestinian protest. Nine windows of the consulate were damaged and the building's door was graffitied, police said.

Footage aired by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) showed inverted red triangles graffitied on the building's front. The symbol is used by some pro-Palestinian activists, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. The same building was sprayed with graffiti in April, while the U.S. consulate in Melbourne was graffitied by pro-Palestine activists in May, according to the paper.

Long a stalwart ally of Israel, Australia has become increasingly critical of its conduct in Gaza, where an Australian aid worker was killed in an Israeli attack earlier this year.