A heavy police presence is expected at the events on Sunday, with attendees warned not to display symbols linked to designated terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.
Ahead of the Sydney rally, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said if there is a need for officers to respond to incidents, it will be "proportionate".
"We take the position that it is an authorised protest for a peaceful protest, and that's what we expect," she said at a press conference on Sunday.
Police Minister Yasmin Catley (left) and Police Commissioner Karen Webb called for a peaceful rally. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
While NSW police sought to block the demonstration from taking place, an agreement reached with organisers allowed the event to go ahead as long as the march did not go near the Great Synagogue on Elizabeth St.
Police and Counter-terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley said there would be zero tolerance for "misbehaviour", including racial slurs.
"We do not want the war in the Middle East played out on our streets in Sydney," she told reporters. "That anger has no place here."
Hundreds are expected to attend the rally in Melbourne CBD but Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said demonstrations are "deeply inappropriate" the day before the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel.
"There is a right to peacefully protest ... but with that right comes a responsibility to do so respectfully and understand what grief and trauma is being experienced by others in our community," she said.
"It is deeply inappropriate, it is not acceptable to be holding gatherings and protest events on October 7 because of what that day represents."
NSW Police went to court to try to block the Sydney rally but reached an agreement with organisers. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)
That sentiment has been echoed by members of the federal government, including Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.
"The protests that are happening over the course of today and tomorrow are deeply regrettable," he told ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.
"The anniversary of October 7 needs to be about October 7 and what happened on that day was the loss of more than 1000 innocent lives."
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the timing of the demonstration lacked compassion and there was a high prospect of violence when tensions were high.
"Most people would agree that we're not going to do much about Middle Eastern violence from Sydney, and we have to do everything we possibly can to prevent that kind of violence in Sydney," he told Sky News.
A heavy police presence was expected at the rallies as demonstrators were urged to keep the peace. (Con Chronis/AAP PHOTOS)
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the federal government should have made a bigger effort to persuade community leaders not to have the protest.
"We're not saying that you can't protest the Palestinian cause, we're just saying pick any other day of the year than October 7."
More than 1200 people were killed on the October 7 attack and 250 were taken hostage, according to the Israeli government.
In response, Israel unleashed a bombing campaign and ground invasion of Gaza, killing almost 42,000 people, displacing 1.9 million and leaving another 500,000 with catastrophic levels of food insecurity, local health ministry sources report.
Israel's military campaign has now spread to Lebanon as it hunts down senior figures in Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran and designated a terrorist organisation by Australia.
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