‘Israeli’ soldiers, including Golani Brigade members, set to attend Sydney marathon

• Up to 40 current and former ‘Israeli’ military personnel and associates are reportedly expected in Australia for the Sydney Marathon on August 30.
• The reported participation of personnel linked to the Golani Brigade comes amid scrutiny over the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency and humanitarian workers in Rafah in March 2025.

Up to 40 current and former ‘Israeli’ soldiers and associates are reportedly expected to travel to Australia for the Sydney Marathon on August 30, with some reportedly linked to the IOF’s Golani Brigade.

The visit is being promoted by the Zionist Council of NSW as a “peace delegation” and is reportedly sponsored by the council and the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).

The reported presence of current or former military personnel has raised questions over whether Australian authorities should scrutinize the backgrounds of those who served in Gaza.

The issue is particularly sensitive because members of the Golani Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit were involved in the March 2025 incident in Rafah in which 15 Palestinian emergency and humanitarian workers were killed.

The victims included eight Palestine Red Crescent medics, six Palestinian Civil Defence workers and a UN employee. Their bodies were later recovered from a mass grave in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah.

An ‘Israeli’ military investigation found professional failures in the operation and said the deputy commander of the Golani reconnaissance unit was the first to open fire. The military later said the conduct of the shooting raised reasonable suspicion of an offense and that the matter would be examined through a Military Police investigation.

The ‘Israeli’ military has maintained that six of the 15 Palestinians killed were members of Hamas, while the United Nations and Palestinian humanitarian organizations have identified the victims as emergency and humanitarian workers.

The reported visit comes amid calls from Australian human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti for people who served in the ‘Israeli’ military in Gaza to face investigation over potential international crimes.

Sidoti, a member of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and ‘Israel’, has argued that Australia should investigate people who served in the ‘Israeli’ military in Gaza where there is evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.

He has also called for individuals who served in any branch of the ‘Israeli’ military in Gaza since October 7, 2023, to be subject to investigation if they seek to enter Australia.

Australia is already facing scrutiny over allegations involving citizens who served in the IOF. In July, the Australian Federal Police confirmed it was assessing allegations that an Australian citizen serving in the ‘Israeli’ military had committed war crimes in Gaza.

The reported arrival of ‘Israeli’ military personnel for the Sydney Marathon is therefore likely to intensify debate over Australia’s obligations to investigate alleged international crimes and whether individuals who served in Gaza should be permitted to enter the country without scrutiny.