Sydney attack: Bondi Beach shooting kills 16, gunmen identified as father and son

Australian PM proposes ‘tougher gun laws’ after Bondi mass shooting

Australia’s prime minister proposed “tougher gun laws” on Monday a day after gunmen killed 15 people in a mass shooting targeting a Jewish festival at a Sydney beach.

“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after police confirmed one of the assailants was licensed to hold six firearms.

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Australian intelligence probed Bondi gunman for IS group links

Australia’s intelligence service investigated one of the alleged gunmen in the Bondi Beach shooting for links to the Islamic State group six years ago, the national broadcaster said Monday.

A 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son are accused of opening fire Sunday on a Hanukkah festival at the famed Sydney beach, killing 15 people and wounding more than 40 others.

Australian media named the gunmen as Sajid Akram, who was killed in a shootout with police, and his son Naveed Akram, who was in hospital in a critical condition under police guard.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation looked into the son in 2019, according to public broadcaster ABC, which cited an unnamed senior official in the joint counter-terrorism operation investigating the Bondi Beach attack.

It said Naveed Akram was believed to be closely connected to an Islamic State member who was arrested in July 2019 and convicted of preparing a terrorist act in Australia.

The broadcaster said counter-terrorism detectives believed the two Bondi Beach gunmen had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Devastation at Sydney’s Bondi beach after deadly shooting

Towels, bags and baby strollers littered Sydney’s Bondi Beach Sunday — the harrowing aftermath of the country’s worst mass shooting in years.

Eleven people were killed and many more rushed to hospital in what Australian police are now calling a “terrorist” attack targeting the city’s Jewish community during a celebration of Hanukkah. One of the shooters was also killed, while another was in critical condition.

Gunfire shattered the late afternoon fun on Bondi, Australia’s most famous beach and emblematic of the country’s love of sun, sea and good times.

“People were dragging their kids away, there were something like 40 shots. It sounded like fireworks,” said Sydney teacher Bianca, 26, who heard dozens of gunshots ring out across the beach. “They looked shocked, traumatised, confused.”

In the wake of the bloodshed, an AFP journalist saw an abandoned children’s stroller and other items discarded by people who fled the bloodbath.

US ‘strongly condemns’ deadly attack on Jewish festival in Sydney

The United States “strongly condemns the terrorist attack” that left over a dozen people dead at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday.

“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 in a post on X.

The State Department later said the Rubio held a call with Australian counterpart Penny Wong “to discuss the antisemitic terrorist attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.”

“We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and with the Australian people as we pray for the victims and their families,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a readout of the call.

US President Donald Trump also briefly mentioned the shooting during remarks at a White House Christmas event, calling it a “terrible attack… an antisemitic attack, obviously.”

Australia to mourn Bondi Beach shooting with flags at half-mast

Australia will lower flags to half-mast in a national gesture of mourning for the 15 people killed in a mass shooting on Bondi Beach, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday. 

“Flags will fly at half-mast across the country today as we pay our respects to all those lost and all those injured,” Albanese said. 

‘Hero’ who disarmed Bondi gunman recovering after surgery, family says

A Sydney fruit shop owner who wrestled a gun from one of the alleged attackers during the mass shooting at Bondi Beach is recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and hand, his family said.

Forty-three-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed was identified on social media as the bystander who hid behind parked cars before charging at the gunman from behind, seizing his rifle and knocking him to the ground.

Australian police on Monday said a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son carried out the attack at a Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday afternoon, killing 15 people in the country’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.

Ahmed’s cousin Mustafa told 7News Australia that doctors had informed the family that Ahmed was stable following surgery.

“He is a hero, he is a hundred percent hero,” Mustafa said.

Australia to mourn Bondi Beach shooting with flags at half-mast

Australia will lower flags to half-mast in a national gesture of mourning for the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting on Bondi Beach, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said. 

“Flags will fly at half-mast across the country today as we pay our respects to all those lost and all those injured,” Albanese said. 

Israeli criticism of Australia plays to ‘domestic audience’

Israeli leaders’ criticism of Australia for purportedly not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism is largely aimed at a domestic audience and carries little weight, says Joseph Downing, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Aston University. 

Five people remain in ‘critical condition’, police say

Gunmen killed 15 people in a mass shooting that targeted a Jewish celebration on Australia’s famed Bondi Beach, police have said in an updated toll that includes a 10-year-old girl.

One of the gunmen — a 50-year-old man — was shot and killed by police, bringing the total dead to 16.

Among the 40 people injured in the shooting, “Five people remain in critical conditions with the others remaining in serious and stable conditions,” New South Wales Police said in a statement. 

Australia police say father-son duo allegedly behind Sydney mass shooting

Australian police have told a media briefing that the alleged offenders behind the Bondi Beach attack were a father and son duo, and that they were not looking for a third offender.

Police said investigations showed only two offenders were responsible for the attack at a Jewish holiday celebration that killed 16 people and injured 40.

Hanukkah security ramped up around the world after Bondi shootings

Major cities including Berlin, London and New York have stepped up security around Hanukkah events on following the attack on a Jewish holiday celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. 

Berlin police said they were ramping up measures around the German capital’s Brandenburg Gate, where a large electric menorah is being lit to mark the first night of Hanukkah. 

“We have long planned comprehensive security for tonight’s Hanukkah event at the Brandenburg Gate — in light of the events in Sydney, we will further intensify our measures and maintain a strong police presence there,” a spokesperson said on X. 

Meanwhile, New York Mayor Eric Adams said on X that extra protection was being deployed for Hanukkah celebrations and synagogues in New York City. 

“We will continue to ensure the Jewish community can celebrate the holiday in safety — including at public Menorah lightings across the city. Let us pray for the injured and stand together against hatred,” Adams said. 

In Warsaw’s main synagogue, armed security was doubled for its Sunday evening event. Polish police also said they had decided to ramp up security. 

Death toll rises to 16 in Sydney shooting

A child is one of at least 16 people killed in the Bondi Beach attack, the authorities have said, updating an earlier death toll.

New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park said the death toll had risen from 12 to 16 overnight, including a 12-year-old child.

Three other children are being treated in hospital, he said.

Macron mourns Frenchman killed in Sydney attack

President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his “deep sadness” at the death of Frenchman Dan Elkayam in a post on X.

French national killed in Bondi Beach shooting

At least one French national was killed in Sunday’s shooting in Sydney, the French foreign minister has said.

Jean-Noël Barrot named the victim as Dan Elkayam.

Trump condemns deadly Sydney shooting as ‘purely antisemitic attack’

US President Donald Trump has condemned a deadly mass shooting at a Jewish festival in Sydney, Australia as “a purely antisemitic attack.”

“That was a terrible attack, 11 dead, 29 badly wounded. And that was an antisemitic attack, obviously,” Trump said during a Christmas celebration at the White House.

Palestinian foreign ministry condemns Bondi attack, rejects ‘all violence, terrorism’

The Palestinian foreign ministry has condemned Sunday’s shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 11 people, saying it rejected all forms of violence and terrorism.

The ministry said it “reiterates its firm rejection of all forms of violence, terrorism and extremism, which contradict humanitarian values”, expressing in a statement its “full solidarity” with “friendly Australia”.

Australia recognised a Palestinian state in September alongside Britain and Canada in a historic shift in decades of Western foreign policy.

‘Just not correct that our govt hasn’t acted out on anti-Semitism’, says former Australian ambassador to France

Israeli leaders condemned a shooting in Sydney that targeted a Hanukkah celebration and killed 11 people on Sunday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing Canberra of fuelling antisemitism in the lead-up to the attack.  

Brendan Berne, a former Australian ambassador to France and to APEC, called the accusations “unfair,” saying Israeli politicians were seeking to “defame” Australia. 

 While noting a rise in anti-Semitism, Berne said the Australian government has stepped up efforts in recent years to combat hatred against Jews at home and abroad.