Sydney’s Bondi Beach was quiet and grieving as investigators on Monday said the two alleged gunmen who opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration were likely inspired by the Islamic State group and had recently traveled to the Philippines. The attack killed 15 people in Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years and is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community, police said.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said early evidence points to a father-and-son team who “aligned themselves with a terrorist organization.” Authorities said a vehicle registered to the younger man contained improvised explosive devices and two homemade flags associated with Islamic State. “These are the alleged actions of those who have aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion,” Barrett said.
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New South Wales police said the victims ranged from a rabbi, a father of five, to a Holocaust survivor, to a 10-year-old girl, according to interviews, officials and media reports. Two police officers remain in critical but stable condition after responding to the attack.
Police said the men fired on hundreds of people gathered for a Hanukkah festival for about 10 minutes at one of Australia’s most visited sites, sending crowds sprinting for cover inside nearby buildings and along the beachfront before officers shot both suspects. The younger man, identified by local media as 24-year-old Naveed Akram, was in critical condition in a hospital. Authorities did not immediately detail the father’s condition.
Officials said 25 survivors are receiving care across several Sydney hospitals. The nationalities of the victims and survivors were not immediately released.
Australian police said both suspects traveled to the Philippines last month; authorities there have opened an investigation. Networks linked to Islamic State have operated in the Philippines, particularly in the country’s south, though Australian officials did not disclose what, if any, contacts the pair may have had during their trip.
At Bondi, a growing memorial of flowers took shape outside the Bondi Pavilion, steps from the shooting scene. The beach was open but largely empty under overcast skies as residents and visitors arrived to pay respects. Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon laid flowers at the site and urged the government to strengthen protections for Australia’s Jewish community. “Only Australians of Jewish faith are forced to worship their gods behind closed doors, CCTV, guards,” he told reporters. “My heart is torn apart … it is insane.”
The killings come amid a rise in antisemitic incidents over the past 16 months, prompting Australia’s top intelligence official to identify antisemitism as his foremost priority in terms of threats to life. Authorities stressed the investigation is focused on extremist ideology and alleged terrorist intent, not religion.
The federal government said Australia’s gun laws are under review after police confirmed the older suspect, identified by officials as Sajid Akram, legally owned six firearms. He received his gun license in 2023, not 2015 as earlier reported, police said. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the landmark gun restrictions enacted after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre by a previous Liberal-National coalition government should be re-examined. Former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard, who introduced those reforms, cautioned against letting gun law debates distract from the need to confront antisemitism.
Authorities urged the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity as forensic teams and counterterrorism officers continue to piece together the suspects’ movements and possible motivations. No timeline has been given for the completion of the investigation.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
