Australia's worst mass shooting since '96 at Hanukkah event

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At least 10 people have been killed in a shooting attack at a Hanukkah event in Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday, police at the scene have confirmed. One of the victims is a Chabad emissary, Rabbi Eli Schlanger.

At least another 12 have been wounded, including two police officers. One of the dead was confirmed to be one of the gunmen, and the second alleged shooter is in critical condition.

The attack is the deadliest mass shooting incident in Australia since 1996.

A senior official told Australian national broadcaster ABC News that one of the shooters has been identified as Naveed Akram from Bonnyrigg in Sydney's south-west, and that police is currently raiding his home.

An Israeli source told Haaretz that in the last few weeks, Israel has received information indicating plans to carry out attacks against Australia's Jewish community.

Local police said that they have arrested two suspects at the scene, while an active search for improvised explosive devices is still underway. The Jewish Community Security Group in New South Wales said that it is in the highest level of escalation. The security group's Western Australia branch will provide security to all the community's evening prayers.

Following the incident, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has convened the Cabinet's National Security Committee.

The Sydney Morning Herald said there were reports of multiple shots fired at the famed beach, and police posted on X that "Anyone at the scene should take shelter." Medical teams, ambulances, helicopters and special operations units have been dispatched, ABC News reported.

Videos circulating on X appeared to show people on Bondi Beach scattering as multiple gunshots and police sirens could be heard. Another video showed two men pressed onto the ground by uniformed police on a small pedestrian bridge. Officers could be seen trying to resuscitate one of the men. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.

Elias, a witness who was swimming at the beach when the shooting started, spoke to Haaretz:

"Initially, we heard gunshots. We thought they were fireworks. We realized there was light outside, and you couldn't see fireworks, and then we realized [the shots] kept going," he said.

Elias added that he "immediately understood" the shooting was targeting the Hanukkah event. "When you're Jewish, you always have that as a worry at the back of your mind," he said.

Amanda Gordon, a member of Sydney's Jewish community whose relative was killed and son was wounded in the incident, told Haaretz that the incident "had to happen."

"There has been such a lack of leadership and a sort of giving permission for more and more extreme examples of hatred to be marching the streets week after week ... there have been protests against the IDF and against Israel in the guise of support for Gazans," she said.

The incident happened during a Chabad Hanukkah event, inviting the community to celebrate the first candle of Hanukkah.

"I saw at least 10 people on the ground and blood everywhere," 30-year-old local Harry Wilson, who witnessed the shooting, told the Herald.

Another eyewitness called the incident "absolute hell on Earth," while speaking to the Guardian.

Earlier this month, a report released by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry showed that antisemitic incidents in Australia remained at a high level for the second consecutive year, though down from the all-time record registered in the 12 months that followed the October 7 attack.

"The scenes in Bondi are shocking and distressing," said Albanese. "Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives. My thoughts are with every person affected."

The Australian Jewish Association called Albanese's statement a "shameful disgrace."

"Albanese avoids even mentioning that it was the Jewish community targetted and Jews shot," the statement said.

The Australian National Imams Council voiced solidarity with the incident's victims. "These acts of violence and crimes have no place in our society. Those responsible must be held fully accountable and face the full force of the law," the council said. "We acknowledge the pain, fear, and distress felt across the community and extend our sincere compassion and support to all who are grieving."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog responded to the attack: "At these very moments, our sisters and brothers in Sydney, Australia, have been attacked by vile terrorists in a very cruel attack on Jews who went to light the first candle of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach.

"We repeat our alerts time and again to the Australian government to seek action and fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society."

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said that the incident is the result of "the anti-Semitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the anti-Semitic and inciting calls of 'Globalise the Intifada' that were realized today."

Police examining 'suspicious items' found near shooting
A number of “suspicious items” have been found in the aftermath of the Bondi Beach shooting where hundreds had gathered for an event to celebrate the start of Hanukkah, the Australian Associated Press has reported.

Police say they are working to disarm what they have described as an improvised explosive device, while an object believed to be an explosive device was removed from a car close to the beach.

“A number of suspicious items located in the vicinity are being examined by specialist officers and an exclusion zone is in place,” New South Wales police said in a statement at 9 p.m. local time.

United States offers assistance to Australia over Bondi attack
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has condemned today’s attack at Bondi Beach, saying “antisemitism has no place in this world.”

“The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Australia targeting a Jewish celebration,” he said in a post on X. “Our prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the people of Australia.”

FBI director Kash Patel said: "I have been in touch with our counterparts in Australia regarding the horrific attack on a Hanukkah festival in Sydney — we are providing the requested assistance and will update with more information as we are able. Please keep the victims and their families in your prayers."

Chabad rabbi named among the victims
A rabbi who helped organize a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach has been named among the 11 people killed in the attack.

Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement, identified Rabbi Eli Schlanger among the deceased, though police have yet to publicly identify any of the victims.

In a post on X, Chabad said Schlanger had served as rabbi and chaplain in the Bondi community for 18 years, since marrying his wife, Chaya.

The post quoted the rabbi's recent warnings against antisemitism, adding: "He recently said in the face of darkness, the way forward is to 'be more Jewish, act more Jewish and appear more Jewish.'”

Massive crime scene along Bondi Beach as investigation begins
Australian authorities are calling this a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community as it was celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

At least 11 people were killed when the two gunmen opened fire with long guns. One of the shooters was killed, a second gunman is in custody in critical condition, and authorities are now investigating whether a third individual was involved.

There's a massive crime scene along Bondi Beach now, where police will be looking for firearms. Guns are quite unusual in Australia, which has one of the lowest gun death rates for any country.

That's partly because of a major gun massacre in 1996 where more than 30 people were killed, pushing the Australian government to enact a wave of gun laws. There was an enormous gun buyback scheme, and it's now difficult to buy weapons in Australia, which is part of the reason this is so shocking.

Investigators will be scouring the social media accounts of the people that were involved, they will be looking at the weapons, and they will be looking at vehicles found near the scene

One of the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah party was likely a Muslim man of Pakistani origin, a senior law enforcement official told ABC News.

The man's name is Naveed Akram, from Bonnyrigg, and his house had been raided.

Akram's driver's license was found at the scene, and showed him to be 24 years old (DOB 12 August 2001).

Nothing on his social media profile indicating his beliefs'
According to his Facebook page, viewed by the Post, Akram studied at Central Queensland University in Sydney and Hamdard University in Islamabad.

He also studied at Al Murad Institute, where he was described as a model student.

There was nothing on his social media profile that indicated his beliefs.

NSW police have not yet confirmed this information.

Ahmed al-Ahmad, a 43-year-old Muslim man identified by Australian media, tackled and disarmed one of the shooters in the Bondi Beach attack, in which 11 people were murdered at a Jewish holiday event on Sunday.

Ahmad, whose cousin told Australia's News 7 that he was shot once in the arm and once in the shoulder, is being hailed as a hero on social media.

"He's a hero. One hundred percent a hero. Once we saw on social media, he's one hundred percent a hero," his cousin, Mustafa al-Ahmad, said.

Ahmad is currently in surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

Footage circulating on social media shows Ahmed running up to a man in a dark shirt who is holding a rifle. He then tackles the armed man from behind, wrenching the rifle from him with his hands before pointing the gun back at the man.

The video then shows the man in a dark shirt losing his footing, backing away towards a bridge where another shooter was located, while the bystander places the gun down on the ground.
Reuters confirmed the video from a verified source, corroborating footage showing the same men.

Reuters also verified that the armed men in the video are the same as the individuals seen surrounded by the police in verified, corroborating visuals by their clothing.

The Mossad has been warning Australia regularly for months about Iranian and other potential terror plots against Jews, The Jerusalem Post has learned, following the attack that murdered 11 at a Hannukkah event on Sunday.

Already in August, the Mossad gave helpful warnings to Australia regarding terror threats from Iran.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Australian intelligence chief Mike Burgess have publicly discussed the threat from Iran and others against the local Jewish community.

At times, they have even made reference to helpful intelligence they received from third parties to combat the phenomenon.

The Post can now confirm that the Mossad was among, if not the leading party, on this issue.

Mossad warns Australia of Iranian-backed terror threats
Despite Australia’s failure to prevent Sunday’s terror attack, there was no confirmation that the Mossad specifically warned about Sunday’s terror attack; rather, the emphasis was on a series of warnings over time about the growing wave and terror infrastructure being built up in Australia.
In fact, sources indicated that Mossad cooperation with Australian intelligence has been excellent, even when relations between Albanese and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been poor.

In August, Albanese and law enforcement officials alleged in a press briefing that the Islamic Republic was the mastermind behind at least two major antisemitic arson attacks in Australia and was likely responsible for more incidents among a wave of anti-Jewish episodes in the country since the October 7 massacre. Albanese further declared that, as a consequence, the Iranian ambassador to Australia would be expelled and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would be legislated as a terrorist organization.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation had gathered enough intelligence to determine that the Islamic regime had directed the December 6, 2024, Adass Israel synagogue arson attack in Melbourne and the October 20, 2024, Lewis’ Continental Kitchen arson attack in Sydney.

“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” said Albanese. “They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community.”

One of the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah party was likely a Muslim man of Pakistani origin, a senior law enforcement official told ABC News.

The man's name is Naveed Akram, from Bonnyrigg, and his house had been raided.

Akram's driver's license was found at the scene, and showed him to be 24 years old (DOB 12 August 2001).

Nothing on his social media profile indicating his beliefs'
According to his Facebook page, viewed by the Post, Akram studied at Central Queensland University in Sydney and Hamdard University in Islamabad.

He also studied at Al Murad Institute, where he was described as a model student.

There was nothing on his social media profile that indicated his beliefs.

NSW police have not yet confirmed this information.

Conspiracy theories that the Sunday night Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre was a false flag operation conducted by Israel spread online in the wake of the terrorist attack that left at least 16 people dead.

Social media accounts on Reddit and X, many with large followings, spread the theory that Israel was behind the attack in the Sydney suburb, including claims that the Mossad organized the attack as a geopolitical maneuver, victims were crisis actors, and that one of the shooters was an IDF shooter.

Dozens of accounts claimed that the Mossad orchestrated the shootings to win sympathy from the global community amid Gaza war public diplomacy problems, or in order to mobilize supporters for continued conflict with Iran.

X and Reddit users pointed to investigations into Iranian involvement, following the Islamic Republic's hand in other incidents in Australia, as proof of an attempt to manufacture consent for a war.

Some commentators claimed that the experience of the attackers with firearms proved that they were actually IDF soldiers ordered to carry out the false flag. Others claimed that one of the alleged terrorists was an IDF soldier who had mental issues because of his service in Gaza.
"Naveed Akram is an IDF soldier that served in Gaza and returned to Australia," an account called Jvnior said in a post with over six million views on X. "Today, he lost his mind and killed 12 Jews."

Another supposed piece of evidence of Israeli manipulation of events touted by conspiracy theorists was the alleged use of planted actors pretending to be victims of violence. Far right commentator Tucker Carlson's brother promoted a theory that Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) Sydney head Arsen Ostrovsky, who was wounded in the attack, was a "crisis actor."

"When your ego betrays the Op," Buckley Carlson wrote on X.

Some commentators claimed that the experience of the attackers with firearms proved that they were actually IDF soldiers ordered to carry out the false flag. Others claimed that one of the alleged terrorists was an IDF soldier who had mental issues because of his service in Gaza.
"Naveed Akram is an IDF soldier that served in Gaza and returned to Australia," an account called Jvnior said in a post with over six million views on X. "Today, he lost his mind and killed 12 Jews."

Another supposed piece of evidence of Israeli manipulation of events touted by conspiracy theorists was the alleged use of planted actors pretending to be victims of violence. Far right commentator Tucker Carlson's brother promoted a theory that Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) Sydney head Arsen Ostrovsky, who was wounded in the attack, was a "crisis actor."

"When your ego betrays the Op," Buckley Carlson wrote on X.

Some commentators claimed that the experience of the attackers with firearms proved that they were actually IDF soldiers ordered to carry out the false flag. Others claimed that one of the alleged terrorists was an IDF soldier who had mental issues because of his service in Gaza.

"Naveed Akram is an IDF soldier that served in Gaza and returned to Australia," an account called Jvnior said in a post with over six million views on X. "Today, he lost his mind and killed 12 Jews."

Another supposed piece of evidence of Israeli manipulation of events touted by conspiracy theorists was the alleged use of planted actors pretending to be victims of violence. Far right commentator Tucker Carlson's brother promoted a theory that Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) Sydney head Arsen Ostrovsky, who was wounded in the attack, was a "crisis actor."

"When your ego betrays the Op," Buckley Carlson wrote on X.

'Indications of foreknowledge of the attack'
Conspiracy theorists supported their claims of a false flag operation by claiming that there were indications of foreknowledge of the attack.

Social media users pointed to conspiracy theorist and podcaster Candace Owens's claims in late November that conservative journalist Laura Loomer's warnings about 9/11 style attacks indicated that such a terrorist incident would occur in the second week of December. Supporters claimed that Owen's prediction had been fulfilled by the Sydney shooting.

ustralia vows stricter gun laws as it mourns victims of its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years, in which police accuse a father-and-son duo of killing 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach.

The incident has raised questions about whether Australia’s gun laws, among the toughest in the world, need an overhaul, with police saying the older suspect had held a firearms license since 2015, along with six registered weapons.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his cabinet agreed to strengthen gun laws and work on a national firearms register to tackle aspects such as the number of weapons permitted by gun licenses, and how long the latter are valid.

Australia vows stricter gun laws as it mourns victims of its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years, in which police accuse a father-and-son duo of killing 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach.

The incident has raised questions about whether Australia’s gun laws, among the toughest in the world, need an overhaul, with police saying the older suspect had held a firearms license since 2015, along with six registered weapons.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his cabinet agreed to strengthen gun laws and work on a national firearms register to tackle aspects such as the number of weapons permitted by gun licenses, and how long the latter are valid.

“People’s circumstances can change,” he told reporters before the cabinet met. “People can be radicalized over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity.”

Albanese says measures being considered range from curbs on open-ended licenses to limits on weapons held by a single individual and the types that are legal, including modifications, with permits restricted to Australian citizens.

A Sydney resident 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 says.

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.

Jozay Alkanji, cousin of Ahmed al Ahmed, speaking while he was leaving the hospital in Sydney on Monday evening, said: “He’s done the first surgery. I think he’s got two or three surgeries, that depend on the doctor, what he says.”

Tributes have poured in from leaders both abroad and at home.

US President Donald Trump called Ahmed “a very, very brave person” who saved many lives. Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state where Sydney is located, has hailed him “a genuine hero” and said the video was “the most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen.”

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for Ahmed with just over A$200,000 ($132,900) raised in a few hours. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was the largest donor, contributing A$99,999 and sharing the fundraiser on his X account.

The gunmen in the terror attack that targeted a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15, have been identified by authorities as Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid, 50, with a report claiming the son had been investigated in 2019 for ties to ISIS.

The two men’s identities and histories were publicized as Australia, its Jewish community and the wider Jewish world continued to grapple with the fallout from the attack, which was one of Australia’s bloodiest shootings in history and the deadliest antisemitic massacre outside Israel since October 7, 2023.

According to Australia’s ABC outlet, both gunmen are believed to have pledged allegiance to the ISIS terror group.

An official from the country’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team told the outlet that an ISIS flag had been found in their car close to the attack, and police said Sunday that an improvised explosive device was found in a car linked to one of the attackers.

Sajid, who authorities said was a licensed firearm owner with six guns, was shot dead by police on the scene of the attack. Naveed is critically wounded and in the hospital under police guard, according to local reports, and will face charges if he survives.

The father first came to Australia in 1998 on a student visa, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters on Monda

In 2001, he obtained a visa granted to the partners of Australian citizens or permanent residents. Since then, the government says he travelled overseas three times.

The guns have since been recovered, and the pair’s home has been raided, along with an AirBnB where they were staying prior to the attack.

ABC also reported that Naveed had been probed by ASIO, the country’s domestic intelligence agency, in 2019 for his close ties to an ISIS cell.

According to the official, Naveed was close to members of the cell including Isaac El Matari, an ISIS terrorist arrested that year who identified himself as the group’s head in Australia. Matari is serving a seven-year prison sentence.

“One of these individuals was known to us, but not in an immediate-threat perspective, so we need to look into what happened here,” ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Monday that the son — named in local media as Naveed Akram — came to the attention of Australia’s security services in 2019.

“He was examined on the basis of being associated with others, and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” Albanese said.

Potential Iran links
Other links to terror are being probed. The attack came about a month after the Mossad notified Australian intelligence about Iranian-backed “terror infrastructure” in the country planning to carry attacks on Jewish targets, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

Almost all of the infrastructure was taken apart by Australian authorities after receiving the Israeli warning, according to the report, and Australian intelligence is investigating whether the perpetrators of today’s attack were part of the Iranian effort.

In October, the Mossad released details about a transnational terror network run by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, which was behind a string of recent attacks on Jewish sites in Western countries, including Australia.

According to Israel’s spy agency, senior IRGC-Quds Force commander Sardar Ammar heads the network, which intensified its efforts to attack Jewish and Israeli sites around the world since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

Israel’s National Security Council warned following the massacre that “past experience shows there is concern about copycat actions by supporters of terrorism who may be inspired by the event.”

The travel warning urged Israelis abroad to avoid unsecured mass gatherings, including at synagogues, Chabad houses and Hanukkah parties. The Sydney festival that was targeted was organized by Chabad.

Official response
More than 300 police officers were sent to secure local Jewish institutions in Australia following the attack, in what is being called “Operation Shelter.”

“Operation Shelter will be overwhelming and it may be an inconvenience for people in the coming days but we need to send a clear message to the people in this state and the affected community,” said Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, the state where Sydney is located

He added that Jews “have every right to celebrate their faith and enjoy this festive period free from the profound worry and sadness associated with their horrible violence.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Australia’s opposition leader, have accused the Australian government of not doing enough to combat antisemitism.

Albanese visited the scene of the attack on Monday morning, where he laid a bouquet of flowers. He also said flags would be lowered to half-mast across the country.

“Australia will never submit to division, violence, or hatred, and we will come through this together,” he said. “We refuse to let them divide us as a nation.”

Asked if he has failed Jewish Australians, the prime minister said that “my government will continue to stand with Jewish Australians and will continue to stamp out antisemitism in all its forms.”

‘We cannot lose hope’
As Australian Jews faced the first day after the massacre, leaders encouraged the community to persevere.

In tearful remarks delivered during morning prayers on Monday, the father-in-law of one of the victims urged the congregation to carry on the work of those who were murdered.

“For whatever reason, they died al kiddush hashem,” for the sanctification of God’s name, said Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, the co-founder of Chabad of Bondi, which organized the event that was targeted. His son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was one of those killed in the shooting.

“And now, they’re looking to us to continue, to make sure that everything they worked for, everything that they’ve done, continues stronger and stronger,” Ulman says. “We cannot allow terrorists — all they want to do is stifle our life as Jews, all they want to do is… bring us down, destroy us, make us despondent, lose hope.”

He continued, “At the moment, it seems, how can we go forward? How can we continue? But that’s not what any of the kedoshim [martyrs] would have ever agreed to. They never would have reacted in such a way, and we have to step up and do the same. We have no choice.”

He sobbed as he said “Baruch dayan emes,” or “Blessed is the true judge,” which is traditionally uttered upon hearing of someone’s death.

Two Chabad rabbis, a Holocaust survivor, a recent immigrant and a 10-year-old girl were among the 15 people confirmed to have been killed on Sunday when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, in one of the deadliest terror attacks targeting Jews outside of Israel in decades.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41
Rabbi Eli Schlanger was the assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi in Sydney, Australia.

The 41-year-old rabbi was born in London and studied at Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in Brunoy, France, Chabad said. He received his rabbinic ordination at the central Lubavitch yeshiva in Crown Heights, New York City.

His cousin, Rabbi Zalman Lewis, told the BBC that Schlanger and his family moved to New York when he was a child, and that he relocated again after marrying an Australian woman.

He is survived by his wife and five children, the youngest of whom, a boy, was born just two months ago.

Schlanger was outspoken in the face of rising antisemitism in Australia. In an interview on the Chabad website in March, he encouraged Jews to stand proudly in the face of hatred.

“My car — emblazoned with mitzvah symbols — is a living example of pride and resilience,” he said then.

He encouraged others to embrace their Jewish identities more strongly as a response to growing hate.

Alex Kleytman
Alex Kleytman, a Ukrainian Holocaust survivor, was celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach with his wife of 57 years, Larisa Kleytman, also a Holocaust survivor, when the attack began.

He was killed while shielding Larisa from the bullets with his own body, his wife told the Daily Mail.

“I think he was shot because he raised himself up to protect me, in the back of the head,” she said in brief remarks outside of St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.

She told The Australian news outlet that Alex, a retired civil engineer, was at the beach to celebrate Hanukkah, a holiday which she said “was always a very, very good celebration, for many, many years.”

“Today in the middle of the celebrations [there were] shots, and unfortunately my husband was killed,” she recounted. “We were standing and suddenly came the ‘boom boom,’ and everybody fell down. At this moment he was behind me, and at one moment, he decided to go close to me. He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me.”

“His body is still there and I am sitting there and don’t know what I have to do,” she said, surrounded by family. “I have no husband. I don’t know… nobody can give me any answers.”

In its 2022-2023 annual report, Australia’s Jewish Care charity published a feature on Alex and Larisa, in which it recounted the “unspeakable terror of the Holocaust” that Alex had endured as a child in Siberia.

“He, along with his mother and younger brother, struggled for survival,” read the report. “The scars of the past, ­however, did not deter [Alex and Larisa] from seeking a brighter future. They later made the move to Australia, immigrating from Ukraine.”

Dan Elkayam, 27
Dan Elkayam, 27, immigrated to Sydney from France last year for work.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed that Elkayam was among those killed, writing on X that the country felt “immense sadness” at the news, and was mourning “with his family and loved ones, with the Jewish community and the bereaved Australian people.”

Elkayam, a Paris native, moved to Australia last December, according to the Le Parisien newspaper. His LinkedIn account showed that he had been working as an IT analyst at NBCUniversal.

He was a voracious traveler and had posted hundreds of images and videos on his social media accounts of his travels, including a multi-day hike through Indonesia’s Sumatra jungle, a visit to temples in Kyoto, Japan, and an encounter with elephants at a sanctuary in Thailand.

“Dan was out celebrating Chanukah with his fellow Jews in Sydney when his promising young life was snuffed out,” wrote Chabad on X.

He played soccer with the Rockdale Ilinden Football Club premier league squad, where he was “an extremely talented and popular figure,” the club said on social media.

Rabbi Yaakov Halevi Levitan
Rabbi Yaakov Halevi Levitan was a Chabad emissary and the secretary of the Sydney Beth Din religious court. He worked at the BINA Center, a Jewish educational institution in Sydney.

According to a Jewish news site, Levitan distributed tefillin to those committed to performing the Jewish rite.

The Chabad news site COLlive said that Levitan hailed from Johannesburg, South Africa, had a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of South Africa, and also later studied at the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.

He also founded a company called tapNgive, which provided donation kiosk solutions for charities and nonprofits, it said.

He was described on the site as “a dedicated, behind-the-scenes worker whose quiet professionalism and commitment were essential to the functioning of Sydney’s Jewish institutions.”

Reuven Morrison, 62
Reuven Morrison, 62, an immigrant to Australia from the former Soviet Union, “discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney,” Chabad said, and remained deeply connected to the Jewish community there even after moving to Melbourne.

Morrison’s family relocated to Melbourne for his daughter’s schooling, Chabad said, but he continued to split his time between the two cities and worked primarily in Sydney.

Morrison was a “successful businessman,” Chabad recounted, and he donated generously to charitable causes, including Chabad of Bondi.

The COLlive site said Morrison moved to Sydney in the 1970s as a teenager, and “was known as a kind and generous activist and philanthropist.” He is survived by his wife, Leah, and daughter, Shaina Gutnick.

Matilda, 10
The youngest victim of the attack was identified as a 10-year-old girl.

Local outlets identified the girl only by her first name, Matilda. She was a student at the Harmony Russian School in Sydney.

A GoFundMe page set up by one of Matilda’s teachers, Irina Goodhew, aims to raise money for her mother.

“I knew her as a bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to everyone around her,” Goodhew wrote. “Yesterday, while celebrating Hanukkah, her young life was tragically taken. Her memory will live on in our hearts.”

Tibor Weitzen, 78
Tibor Weitzen, 78, was a father, grandfather and great-grandfather who was a beloved member of the local Jewish community and Chabad.

His granddaughter, Leor Amzalak, told the Australian ABC news outlet that “my grandfather was truly the best you could ask for.” She said that he “was so proud of us… and loved us more than life itself.”

She said that he moved to Australia from Israel in 1988.

“He only saw the best in people and will be dearly missed,” she added.

He was killed as he tried to protect a family friend from gunfire, according to COLlive, a Chabad-focused publication.

The publication said he was a “sweet grandpa” who served as the “lollipop man” in synagogue, giving sweets to children.

Peter Meagher
A retired policeman and long-time rugby volunteer, Peter Meagher was struck down while working as a freelance photographer at the Hanukkah event, Randwick Rugby Club said in a statement.

“‘Marzo’ as he was universally known, was a much loved figure and absolute legend in our club, with decades of voluntary involvement, he was one of the heart and soul figures of Randwick Rugby,” the club said.

“The tragic irony is that he spent so long in the dangerous front line as a Police Officer and was struck down in retirement while taking photos in his passion role is really hard to comprehend,” it said.

“For him, it was simply a catastrophic case of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time.”

Marika Pogany, 82
Marika Pogany, 82, a grandmother, was named on Monday as another victim in the Hanukkah shooting.

According to Kidma, a Hungarian Jewish organization, Pogany had roots in Hungary and stayed connected to her heritage.

In 2019, she was honored with the Jewish Communal Appeal’s “Mensch Award” for delivering more than 12,000 kosher “Meals on Wheels” over more than 20 years.

She was also a longtime member of the Harbour View Bridge Club.

“She was a terrific person, excellent bridge player, and an even better friend. Incredibly loyal. I knew her for 40 years,” Matt Mullamphy, director of the Harbour View Bridge Club, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Pogany was seen in photos at the Hanukkah event sitting and smiling in the front row.

The Jewish community of Komárno, in present-day Slovakia, wrote on Facebook that Pogany would attend a Holocaust memorial event with the community every year.

A day after the terror attack on a Jewish-community event at Bondi Beach in Sydney, people gathered there this evening (Australia time) to light Hanukkah candles, on the second night of the eight-day holiday.

The large crowd sang “Ya’aseh Shalom,” a prayer for peace.

Jews from around New York City danced, sang and huddled against the cold at a menorah lighting in Manhattan on Sunday night, at a celebration marked by mourning for those killed in the terror shooting targeting a Hanukkah event across the world, at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

“Tonight, our hearts are with the Jewish community of Sydney, Australia,” Rabbi Velvl Butman told the crowd at the start of the event, dedicating the service to the victims. “We pray for the souls that we lost.”

The event on the first night of Hanukkah centered around a massive, 36-foot (11-meter), 4,000-pound (1,800-kilogram) menorah that is erected every year at the southeast corner of Central Park by the Chabad Hasidic movement.

The lighting of the menorah, certified as the world’s largest, is an annual, public celebration of Jewish life in the city dating back to 1977.

The slaughter in Australia cast a pall over this year’s lighting, but the crowd and Butman insisted on maintaining the event’s upbeat atmosphere, despite the tragedy.

“As you all know what happened, we are caught in a bind, because on the one hand, Hanukkah is a celebration,” Butman said. “But on the other hand, our hearts are heavy.”

“The pain is beyond description,” he said.

“Our spirit is not broken. The Jewish response to challenge has never been fear or retreat — the Jewish response is to add more light and more action,” he said.

Dancing circles formed in the crowd when music played, volunteers at a table distributed holiday donuts, Chabad-affiliated youths gave out menorahs and candles, and attendees passed around an Israeli flag to pose for photos with the menorah in the background, as a dusting of snow blew down from the trees.

Organizers estimated that at least 500 people attended.

Other public menorah lightings took place around the city, despite the frigid temperature, at Columbia University, Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, and on the Upper East Side waterfront.

Zachary Kerman, a Queens resident, said he had woken up to “anger” and “shock” seeing the news of the massacre, but that “it made me feel my Judaism even stronger.”

It was his first time at the Central Park menorah lighting.

“As horrified as I was, I wasn’t surprised,” he said, citing the deluge of “antisemitic rhetoric” worldwide.

“This is the world we’re living in now, but we still have to be proud of who we are, we still have to celebrate. That’s why we’re all here,” he said.

A perimeter of police officers armed with assault rifles circled the gathering.

Butman ascended above the crowd on a cherry picker to light the massive menorah with a blowtorch.

“Good will always outshine hate,” he said.

Kudos to a young Syrian man, Ahmed el Ahmed for putting his life on the line and being shot twice before disarming the killer likely saving many lives.

another day, another mindless human act of murder.

A father and son who lived in a quiet Sydney suburb — one a licensed gun owner, the other previously investigated for potential extremist associations — are suspected of turning an oceanside Hanukkah celebration into a killing ground.

With 15 people confirmed dead, Sunday's attack on the famous Bondi Beach is Australia's deadliest shooting in decades. Officials said the shooters targeted the Jewish community and were “motivated by Islamic State ideology” when they unleashed a volley of bullets from a bridge at the gathered crowds.

They had traveled to the Philippines, where ISIS militants are known to operate, prior to the assault.

The attack has set off renewed scrutiny of not only Australian gun laws and efforts to combat antisemitism, but also what authorities knew about the duo accused of carrying out the attack.

“Early indications point to a terrorism attack inspired by the Islamic State,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett told reporters Tuesday.

Two homemade ISIS flags were found in the cars belonging to the younger, 24-year-old suspect, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said.

Three senior law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Australia told NBC News that investigators had tentatively identified one of the suspects as Naveed Akram. Lanyon identified the older suspect, the father, as Sajid Akram.

Police have said officers fatally shot the 50-year-old father at the scene, while the 24-year-old son “suffered critical injuries” and was hospitalized.

Lanyon said the suspects traveled to the Philippines last month. What that trip was for and whom the pair met with, as well as the specifics of their travel, are all under investigation, he said.

The suspects had traveled from Sydney to the Philippines on Nov. 1 and reported Davao as their final destination, the Philippines Bureau of Immigration said in a statement.

They stayed in the country till Nov. 28, it said, adding the father was an Indian national and the son was an Australian national.

ISIS-linked networks are known to operate in the Philippines and have wielded influence in the country's south.

Davao is a city on the southern island of Mindanao, where terrorist groups have operated. In 2017, ISIS-inspired militants seized parts of the southern city of Marawi and held it in a deadly monthslong siege. But the extremists' grip on the area has been weakened by sustained efforts by the government and military.

The younger suspect was an Australian-born citizen who first came to the attention of the Australian intelligence agency in October 2019, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters Monday.

“He was examined on the basis of being associated with others,” he said. However, “an assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the older suspect arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and transferred to a partner visa three years later. He has since held a resident return visa.

Neither Albanese nor Burke elaborated on the son’s associations, though Albanese said the investigation at the time lasted six months.

In a radio interview on Tuesday with ABC Australia, Albanese said the suspects were “motivated by Islamic State ideology” that “has been around for more than a decade that led to this ideology of hate, and in this case, a preparedness to engage in mass murder.”

Albanese on Monday said there was “no evidence of collusion” or that the father and son were part of a wider cell.

He also confirmed police information that a number of improvised explosive devices were found in a car. Albanese also said the younger suspect was not on a counterterrorism watch list.

Police raided an Airbnb property in Campsie, close to Bondi Beach, where the men had been staying, according to ABC Australia.

Authorities also said they raided a property in Bonnyrigg, a working-class suburb about 22 miles from Sydney’s central business district.

Residents said they were stunned to see armed police cordon off their street and raid a house as news of the shooting emerged. Neighbors said the family who lived there kept to themselves and appeared no different from others in the area.

“It’s a quiet area, very quiet,” Lemanatua Fatu, 66, who lives across the street, told the Reuters news agency. “People mind their own business, doing their own thing — until now“.

I always see the man and the woman and the son,” she added. “They are normal people.”

The Sydney Morning Herald spoke to a woman Sunday evening who identified herself as the wife and mother of the suspects but said she was unable to identify her son based on images from the scene of the attack.

She said the two men told her they were going on a fishing trip.

“He doesn’t have a firearm,” she said of her son, the Morning Herald reported. “Anyone would wish to have a son like my son."

The 50-year-old suspect killed by police had the legal right to possess firearms, authorities said at a news conference Monday.

“He met the eligibility criteria for a firearm’s license,” said Lanyon, the police commissioner. “He was a member of a gun club and was entitled by nature of the firearms act to have a firearms license issued.”

Lanyon added that the license permitted him to own the registered long guns used in the attack.

Discussing radicalization broadly, an expert told NBC News that family connections can be a significant potential risk factor in extremist involvement.

What family members think “matters in a way that doesn’t necessarily apply for others,” said Andrew Silke, a professor of criminology at Royal Holloway University. He said attacks by brothers were more common than by father and son.

Normally, Silke added, “the older family member is the one who introduces the younger family member to the ideology and kind of coaches them in, but there have been a few cases where the opposite has happened.”

Silke said that it often emerges in terrorism investigations that there was a pattern of radicalization over time. An attack completely out of the blue, with no evidence of engagement with more radical ideas, would be “incredibly rare,” he said.

“Normally, there are signs,” he added.

The Federal and New South Wales governments have declared Sunday, December 21, as a day of reflection in order to honor the victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, announced Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a press conference early Friday.

Albanese went on to say that intelligence has confirmed that the Bondi Beach attack was ISIS-inspired.

He also announced that Australia will launch a national gun buyback scheme in the wake of the attack, declaring that "We expect hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed through this scheme."

Detained men likely had ideological links to Bondi gunmen
Australian police said that seven men detained in Sydney's southwest on Thursday had ideological connections to the two gunmen who allegedly fired at hundreds celebrating Hanukkah in Bondi Beach, killing 15 people.

"We don't have definitive links between the individuals who committed these atrocities on Sunday and this yesterday apart from potential commonality in some thinking, but no associations at this stage," New South Wales state Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson told ABC Radio on Friday.

Investigations were at an initial stage, Hudson said, adding one of the locations the group was planning to visit was Bondi

A Jewish-owned bakery in Sydney announced Wednesday that it is closing down due to near-constant antisemitic harassment and fears for staff and customers in the wake of the deadly mass shooting targeting a Hanukkah event at the city’s Bondi Beach.

Ed Halmagyi, a Jewish celebrity chef who owns Avner’s Bakery in the Surry Hills section of Sydney, said he was shutting the establishment after two years of being subject to threats and vandalism, including since Sunday’s attack, and reportedly told patrons he feared the eatery could be targeted by those seeking to “globalize” Palestinian terror.

“The world has changed. Our world has changed,” declared a poster displayed Wednesday in the window of the bakery, which sold bagels, babkas and other Jewish-themed foods.

“After two years of almost ceaseless antisemitic harassment, vandalism and intimidation directed at our little bakery, we have to be realistic about the threats that exist going forward,” the Avner’s announcement continued.

“Those concerns are now clearly more pressing and more serious. Even in the wake of this terrorist incident, threats have continued.”

“In the wake of the pogrom at Bondi, one thing has become clear — it is no longer possible to make outwardly, publicly, proudly Jewish places and events safe in Australia,” the poster read. “And so, we have made the only decision available, one that truly breaks our hearts. Avner’s is closed.”

Halmagyi is famous for his 20-year run as a chef on the Seven Network’s Better Homes and Gardens.

Known as “Fast Ed,” he is proudly Jewish and often posts videos of himself on social media talking about Jewish holidays. He opened the bakery in 2023.

Sky News Australia reported that in addition to the poster in the bakery, Halmagyi also sent a personal note to patrons.

In it, he said the attacks on his bakery were “the philosophy of the second intifada, where pizzerias, clubs, playgrounds and cafes were the most common targets,” a reference to a violent Palestinian uprising in 2000-2005 that was marked by terror attacks and bombings that killed over 1,000 Israelis. Over 3,100 Palestinians were killed during the same period by Israeli security forces.

“Businesses like these will be part of whatever happens next, now that performative and hateful calls to ‘globalise the intifada’ have been realised,” he wrote.

October the bakery called the police over threatening phone calls that included antisemitic comments to the owner, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported.

An investigation led to a 17-year-old boy being called into the local police station on Wednesday morning under the Youth Offenders Act. Police said that inquiries were still ongoing.

The bakery was also vandalized in October 2024 with inverted red triangles and a note, “Be Careful,” pushed under the door. The inverted triangle is used by Hamas in propaganda videos to show the targeting of victims in attacks on Israelis.

“Being Jewish in Sydney, 2024 edition,” Halmagyi wrote in a post he shared at the time on Instagram.