At least 15 people were killed when two gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday evening. Australian authorities have declared it a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.
The shooting began around 6:45 pm local time on Sunday at Bondi Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Around 1,000 people gathered for “Chanukah by the Sea,” an annual event organised by Chabad of Bondi to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah.
The gunmen dressed in black opened fire with long guns from a footbridge leading to the beach, firing for approximately 10 minutes.
Witnesses described chaos and panic as hundreds of people fled along the sand and into nearby streets, many abandoning their belongings.
The casualties
Fifteen people were killed in the attack. One of the gunmen was also shot dead by police, while the other remains in critical condition.
At least 40 people were hospitalised with injuries, ranging in age from 10 to 87. Three children remain under observation.
Two police officers were among those shot and are in serious condition after undergoing surgery.
Victims identified so far include Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organiser of the event, a 12-year-old girl, Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, French citizen Dan Elkayam, and an Israeli citizen, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
The suspects
Police have identified the two attackers as father and son.
The father, aged 50, was shot and killed by police at the scene. He was a licensed firearms dealer with six firearms registered to him, according to NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon.
The son, 24, is in critical but stable condition under police custody.
One of the gunmen has been identified as Naveed Akram from Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-west.
Police raided a home in Bonnyrigg linked to one of the suspects.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess confirmed one of the attackers was known to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation but was not considered an immediate threat.
Authorities initially investigated whether a third person was involved but are no longer looking for additional suspects.
Police found and removed improvised explosive devices from a vehicle on Campbell Parade linked to one of the gunmen.
The hero
Video footage showed a man in a white shirt tackling one of the gunmen from behind and wrestling his rifle away.
Australian media have identified him as Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, a fruit stand owner from Sydney.
Al-Ahmed was shot twice during the struggle, once in his arm and once in his hand. He underwent surgery and is recovering.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns called him “a genuine hero,” saying, “There are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery.”
The response
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared it “an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism.”
“This was an attack deliberately targeted at the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah,” he said. “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.”
Police declared it a terrorist incident on Sunday night local time. Australia’s counter-terrorism unit is leading the investigation. Flags across Australia are flying at half-mast.
World leaders condemned the attack. French President Emmanuel Macron called it “an antisemitic terrorist attack” and vowed to continue fighting “antisemitic hatred” in a post on X.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Israeli hearts “go out to our Jewish sisters and brothers in Sydney” and called on Australia to fight “the enormous wave of antisemitism.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Australian government for “pouring fuel on this antisemitic fire.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “antisemitism has no place in this world.”
“Our prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the people of Australia,” Rubio said.
Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla said they were “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack” and commended the heroic actions of police and bystanders.
“In times of hurt, Australians always rally together in unity and resolve. I know that the spirit of community and love that shines so brightly in Australia — and the light at the heart of the Hanukkah Festival — will always triumph over the darkness of such evil,” King Charles III said in a statement.
The attack is the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, when a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania. That tragedy led to sweeping gun control reforms.
Australia has experienced a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since October 2023. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) documented 1,654 anti-Jewish incidents between October 2024 and September of this year, nearly five times the pre-October 2023 average.
Recent antisemitic attacks in Australia include arson attacks on a Melbourne synagogue and a Sydney kosher restaurant in 2024, which authorities linked to Iran.
Bondi Beach is one of Australia’s most famous beaches, attracting more than 2 million tourists in 2024. Sydney’s eastern suburbs are home to about one-third of Australia’s 150,000-strong Jewish community.
