Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting kills 15; Albanese condemns ‘antisemitic terrorism’
SYDNEY — Two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, killing 15 people — including a child — and wounding dozens more in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitic terrorism.
- Advertisement -
Authorities said the attackers were a father and son. A 50-year-old man was shot dead by police and his 24-year-old son was wounded and hospitalized, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said Monday. One of the men was known to security services, but Lanyon said there was no indication of a planned attack and police were not seeking additional suspects.
The massacre unfolded as thousands packed one of Australia’s most famous beaches and hundreds gathered for “Chanukah by the Sea,” a community celebration marking the start of the eight-day Jewish festival. The dead ranged in age from 10 to 87, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said. At least 42 people were being treated in hospitals Monday, several in critical condition.
“What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location,” Albanese said, adding Bondi Beach was “forever tarnished by what has occurred.”
Onlookers’ video showed swimmers sprinting from the water as gunfire erupted near a footbridge. Separate footage captured two men in black shirts firing long guns; in one clip, a man wrestled a weapon away from one of the attackers and aimed it back before placing it on the ground. Minns called the man, identified by relatives to local media as fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, a “genuine hero.”
Emergency calls began around 6:45 p.m. Chabad, the Orthodox Jewish movement that organized the event, said one of the victims was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi. Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of an Israeli citizen. French President Emmanuel Macron said a French national, identified as Dan Elkayam, was among the dead. Australian authorities have not publicly released the names of the victims or the gunmen.
Arsen Ostrovsky, a lawyer who had moved from Israel to Australia two weeks ago, said he was grazed in the head by a bullet while attending the celebration with his family. “What I saw today was pure evil, just an absolute bloodbath,” he told The Associated Press from his hospital bed.
Lanyon said two improvised explosive devices were found at the scene and rendered safe by bomb disposal experts. He described them as rudimentary and designed for wick detonation.
Minns said there would “almost certainly” be changes to gun laws. Police said six firearms were found at a property where the 50-year-old attacker had been staying. Mass shootings are rare in Australia, which enacted sweeping gun controls after a 1996 massacre in Port Arthur, Tasmania, where 35 people were killed. Significant attacks in recent decades have largely involved murder-suicides and a 2022 shootout in rural Queensland that left six dead, including police officers.
The Bondi Beach attack followed a surge in antisemitic incidents across Australia since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. The government’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism reported a more than threefold rise in assaults, threats and vandalism over the past year. Albanese vowed a “moment of national unity” and solidarity with Australian Jews; critics, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused Canberra of failing to curb antisemitism. Last year, Australia cut diplomatic ties with Iran, blaming Tehran for two attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
Global reaction was swift. King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack.” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he was horrified and that his heart was with the Jewish community worldwide. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the assault, saying antisemitism has no place in the world.
Lanyon pledged a thorough investigation into the Bondi Beach shooting. Authorities have not linked the attack to prior incidents of antisemitic violence in Australia.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
