Around a thousand people gathered on Sunday morning (14) on Australia’s famous Bondi Beach in Sydney to celebrate Hanukkah. The event – known as the Jewish Festival of Light which marks the victory of Jews in a battle against the Greeks more than 2,000 years ago to freely practice their religion – was interrupted by gunfire.
Below, find out everything we know about the attack:
- Fifteen people died in this shooting, described by the police as “terrorist” and “anti-Semitic”. A British rabbi, an Israeli and a French citizen were among the victims.
- 42 people were taken to hospital. A child and two police officers were among the injured.
- The attackers were father and son. While one of them died in the shooting, the other is hospitalized. “The 50-year-old man is dead. The 24-year-old man is currently in hospital,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told a news conference.
- Australian intelligence services investigated the youngest attacker for possible links to the Islamic State group, according to ABC. Authorities also said they were not looking for other suspects.
- At least one improvised explosive device (IED) was found in a car linked to one of the shooters.
- Eyewitnesses described seeing “bodies lying on the ground.”
- Footage shows a man, described as a “hero”, struggling with one of the attackers to disarm him (see video here). Local channel 7News identified him as Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, a fruit seller who was reportedly shot twice and hospitalized.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Bondi Beach attack was an “act of malignant anti-Semitism, an act of terrorism that struck at the heart of our nation.”
- After the attack, laws may become stricter. “The government is ready to take all necessary measures. This includes the need for stricter gun control laws,” the Prime Minister stressed in his speech.
- World leaders condemned the attack. US President Donald Trump called the act “purely anti-Semitic”.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he warned his Australian counterpart that the country’s policies encouraged anti-Semitism. Netanyahu called the attack “cold-blooded murder” and said anti-Semitism “spreads when leaders remain silent.”
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog linked the act of violence to a “very cruel attack on Jews”, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed that the UK “will always stand with Australia and the Jewish community”.
- The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it rejected “all forms of violence, terrorism and extremism” in a statement reaffirming solidarity with Australia, which recognized the state of Palestine in September.
- In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for “relentless efforts to eradicate anti-Semitism and terrorism” on X (formerly Twitter).
- Argentine President Javier Milei called the Hanukkah attack “horrible,” adding: “the holiday in which the few triumph over the many, which reminds us that light triumphs over darkness.”
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, repudiated this act because of X. “It is unacceptable that acts of hatred and extremism take the lives of innocent people and violate the values of peace, peaceful coexistence and respect,” he stressed. In a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Brazilian government also rejected the attack and expressed “solidarity with the families of the victims, the injured and the president of the Jewish Association of Australia, Robert Gregory, declared the attack a “predictable” tragedy and denounced the government for “failing to take adequate measures to protect the Jewish community.”
- The Israeli Confederation of Brazil (Conib) expressed its deep dismay and solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community, stating that “attacking Jews as they celebrate their faith is not just a crime against individuals or a specific community. It is an attack on the most fundamental values of democratic coexistence, religious freedom and the right to live without fear.”
- The Israeli Federation of São Paulo State expressed solidarity with all those who suffered the consequences of the attack, warning that “tolerance of hate speech has real and violent consequences. Silence and relativization in the face of anti-Semitism cost lives.”
- Jewish Association of Australia president Robert Gregory suggested the attack was a “predictable” tragedy and denounced the government for “failing to take adequate action to protect the Jewish community”.
- Australia has suffered several anti-Semitic attacks amid the war in Gaza, fought between the Hamas group and Israel. In fact, the Australian government accused Iran of being behind them and expelled its ambassador.
- Iran condemned the “violent attack” and the Foreign Ministry spokesperson stressed that the country rejected “terrorism”.
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