We’ll draw our blog to a close now. The main points:
Alleged Bondi shooter Naveed Akram, who has been in hospital in a coma since the incident on Sunday, has regained consciousness. We expect police will shortly lay charges.
He and his father Sajid Akram spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines, that country’s immigration department has confirmed, with Sajid entering the country as an “Indian national”
Indian police say he’s had no regular contact with his family since migrating to Australia in the 1990s and relatives in India had no idea as to how he became radicalised
Federal and state lawmakers have sketched out strengthened gun laws
But former Prime Minister John Howard is among other critics who say the Albanese government need to be doing more on antisemitism
Howard said the gun debate was a “distraction” from the government’s failure on this front
Albanese says he is dedicated to the issue, and wants national unity, but was pressed today on why the government had not responded yet to a report delivered by the national antisemitism envoy six months ago
Meanwhile more victims have been identified, including a married Bondi couple Boris and Sofia Gurman, who lost their lives trying to stop the gunman. Dashcam footage of their brave acts has gone viral.
More than 20,000 Australians book blood donation appointments
As Sydney reeled from the Bondi beach terror attack, Sarah sat at home in the city’s inner west, feeling helpless.
So on Monday, the 59-year-old doctor rolled up her sleeve and made the same decision as thousands of other Australians: to donate blood. She felt giving blood was the least she could do.
More than 20,000 people across Australia have made an appointment to donate blood in the wake of the mass shooting in which 16 people were killed, including one of the alleged gunmen.
Indian police say gunman’s family had no idea of radicalisation
Indian police have issued a statement on the gunman who was killed by police, Sajid Akram, saying he was originally from Hyderabad in India.
According to Reuters, the police statement says he visited India six times after migrating to Australia and Indian police have no record on him before he left the country.
His family in India also had no knowledge about the circumstances which led to his radicalisation.
As reported earlier, Sajid and his son travelled to the Philippines last month, where Sajid entered on an Indian passport.
Updated
Dashcam video shows efforts by killed couple to fight gunman
Dramatic footage has emerged of the married couple who lost their lives trying to fight a gunman during the early stages of the shooting.
Their family have identified them as Boris Gurman, 69, and Sofia Gurman, 61 – a retired Bondi mechanic and post office staffer, who had been married for 34 years.
The video shows the moment Boris, wearing a purple shirt, tackled shooter Sajid Akram on Campbell Parade as he emerged from his car, which had an Islamic State flag draped over the windscreen.
Boris appears to push Akram on to the road and wrestle a gun from his hands. Sofia was also involved in the confrontation.
The footage was posted to Chinese social media by a Sydney resident whose dashcam unexpectedly caught the incident. “Such civilian heroes shouldn’t be forgotten,” she wrote in Mandarin on the post. “I’m truly heartbroken.”
The Gurman’s family said in a statement:
In recent days, we have become aware of footage showing Boris, with Sofia by his side, courageously attempting to disarm an attacker in an effort to protect others.”
“While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness. This encapsulates who Boris and Sofia were – people who instinctively and selflessly tried to help others.
Updated
Here’s the video again from earlier today of the Australian prime minister visiting Ahmed al- Ahmed, the man who disarmed one of the shooters, in hospital.
His shop in Sydney’s southern Sutherland Shire has been plastered with messages of thanks from locals, and online donations from supporters worldwide have surged past A$2.2million.
Albanese described Ahmed as “the best of our country”. Born in Idlib in Syria, Ahmed moved to Australia in 2006, and in 2017 applied to become a citizen, only succeeding after years of court appeals.
Updated
I’m going to hand you over now to my colleague Frances Mao, who will take you through the rest of this evening’s developments.
What we've learned so far today
It’s just gone 8.30pm in Sydney. If you’re just joining us or catching up, here’s a quick recap of what we’ve learned in the past few hours:
Alleged Bondi shooter Naveed Akram, who has been in hospital in a coma since the incident on Sunday, has regained consciousness this afternoon.
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines, that country’s immigration department has confirmed, with Sajid Akram entering the country as an “Indian national”
The NSW opposition leader has indicated bipartisan support for strengthened gun laws, as the premier, Chris Minns, says he expects to recall parliament before Christmas.
King Charles has thanked Ahmed al-Ahmed for his actions in tackling one of the alleged Bondi shooters, and the governor general, Sam Mostyn, says she expects Ahmed to receive a bravery award.
Delivery of the inquest findings into the 2024 stabbings at Westfield Bondi Junction, which were due in the coming days, will be delayed out of respect for the victims of the Bondi beach shooting.
Updated
Latest update on injured victims in hospital
The latest update from NSW Health on people injured in the Bondi shootings puts the number of patients receiving care in Sydney hospitals at 22 this evening.
As of 8pm, Tuesday 16 December:
One patient is in a stable condition at Prince of Wales hospital.
One patient is in a critical but stable condition, and one patient is in a stable condition at St George hospital.
One patient is in a stable condition at Sydney eye hospital.
Two patients are in a critical condition and three patients are in a critical but stable condition at St Vincent’s hospital.
One patient is in a critical condition, two patients are in a critical but stable condition and three patients are stable at Royal Prince Alfred hospital.
Two patients are in a stable condition at Sydney children’s hospital, Randwick.
Three patients are in a stable condition at Royal North Shore hospital.
Two patients are in a stable condition at Liverpool hospital.
Updated
More from Bondi Pavilion:
“It is our October 7,” says Rabbi Levi Wolff from the Central synagogue as he invites visiting the Israeli minister for diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, to speak.
Chikli says:
I come here to stand with the Jewish community. We came here today to face the force of evil … I have one thing to say to those cowards ... If you think that by these terror attacks we will abandon our identity, we will walk away with our identity and we couldn’t be less proud. You have made a major mistake. We are proud to be the enemy of evil. We are proud to be Jews. We will never walk away from our shared values that we share with you, the Aussies.
Updated
‘I couldn’t imagine I would lose my daughter here’ says mother of youngest attack victim Matilda
“I couldn’t imagine I would lose my daughter here,” Matilda’s mother tells the crowd at the Bondi Pavilion memorial.
She continues:
I can’t imagine what is a monster that stands on that bridge, and seeing a little girl running for her father to hide with him, and he just pulled the trigger on her … it wasn’t an accident, it wasn’t just a bullet, fired from a hill … it stays here [in my heart], it just stays here and here.
She cannot go on speaking.
Updated
Philippine authorities investigating alleged shooters’ November movements
Further to our previous post, the Philippines’ national security council has just issued a statement via its spokesperson, Cornelio Valencia.
The statement reads:
The National Security Council is aware of media reports regarding the travel of the Bondi Beach attackers to the Philippines last November. We are closely coordinating with relevant agencies, including the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Bureau of Immigration, to verify the details of their visit and determine whether any unlawful activities occurred on Philippine soil.
The Bureau of Immigration has confirmed that both individuals arrived in the country on November 1, 2025, with Davao as their reported final destination, and departed on November 28, 2025, via Manila. Authorities are examining all information in coordination with international partners to ensure a thorough assessment.
The NSC remains vigilant in preventing any terrorist activity within Philippine territory and continues to enhance coordination with international partners to safeguard national security.
Updated
Philippine authorities unable to confirm whether alleged gunman linked with militant groups in country
Earlier today, the Philippines’ immigration department confirmed the father and son accused of being behind the deadly Bondi beach mass shooting spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines.
Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval told AFP:
Sajid Akram, 50, Indian national, and Naveed Akram, 24, Australian national, arrived in the Philippines together last November 1, 2025 from Sydney, Australia.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Philippine national security council’s assistant director general and spokesperson, Cornelio Valencia, said authorities had not confirmed any links between terror groups and the pair.
Philippine authorities and their Australian counterparts were coordinating on the investigation, Valencia said.
Valencia said in translated remarks:
What we have received is simply confirmation that they arrived here in Manila and then proceeded to Sydney. Beyond that, we are still awaiting the normal process. It would be difficult to issue statements on matters that we have not yet validated.
President Bongbong Marcos’s national security adviser, Eduardo Año, said authorities were investigating the pair, but there was no indication so far they had undertaken military training in the Philippines.
Updated
‘Remember her name’: family of 10-year-old victim Matilda address vigil
The family of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi beach attack, has been speaking to the gathered crowd at the memorial site at the Pavilion. They break down while telling the crowd about the love for their daughter lost.
Matilda’s father, as he chokes back tears, says:
I never expected to be standing here in front of a microphone … We came here from the Ukraine … and I named her Matilda because she was our firstborn in Australia. Remember her name.
Updated
Anglican minister calls for ‘citizen movement’ to ensure Jewish community does not ‘pay in blood for public policy decisions’
At Bondi Pavilion, Sydney Anglican minister Mark Leach has addressed the crowd gathered, in a passionate speech telling the Jewish people they cannot fight antisemitism alone.
Leach said:
I want to say to all the Jewish people here, as a Christian Australian, we are so sorry that we allowed this country to become a place where you would be slaughtered.
Forgive us. You are a tiny, tiny minority, and the majority of this country has allowed this to happen, and we beg your forgiveness.
Leach, who is of Jewish heritage, said churches are being filled with everyday Australians gathering to pray and to remember and to stand with the Jewish community.
He continued:
But the fight against antisemitism is not yours to win. You cannot win it. We are too small. It is a fight for all of Australia to win. What we need to do when our season of mourning and grieving is over, we must build a citizen movement in this country that extends from the north to the south and the east to the west, and includes people of all faiths … a citizen movement that will hold ourselves and our governments and our leaders to account for the decisions they make, so that never again will the Jewish community pay in blood for the public policy decisions of any government of this country.
Updated
Among the tributes laid for Ahmed al-Ahmed outside his shop in Sutherland this afternoon is this hand-drawn tribute by a child, stuck with tape to a roller door. Along with some pictures, the child has written:
Thank you for being our hero. We are proud of you. Get well soon. Hope you feel better. Thank you. No more guns for everyone.
Updated
The family of slain Rabbi Eli Schlanger has arrived at the memorial at Bondi Pavilion, as the Menorah is about to be lit for the second evening at the site.
The rabbi’s sister, Perela Goldhirsch, and his nieces and nephews hugged each other and wept as Dan Goldhirsch, the rabbi’s brother-in-law, quietly spoke to those near about the importance of community and fighting hatred without seeking revenge.
Fundraisers for shooting victims at Bondi Pavilion memorial
At the entrance to the impromptu monument at Bondi beach, Rivky Shuchat, from the organisation Jewish Education Matters – a not-for-profit organisation promoting Judaism and Jewish education to Jewish children attending secular schools – has been standing by her post since early morning for the second day running.
An A-frame sandwich board bears the photos of two of her close friends, slain rabbis Eli Schlanger and Yaakov Levitan. Both are pictured with their five young children.
The board also holds two QR codes and Shuchat is urging everyone as they enter the site to make a donation. People obediently scan the codes, others press $20 and $50 notes into her hand. In the past 48 hours almost $400,000 has been raised for Schlanger, and almost $200,000 for Levitan.
Shuchat says:
And I won’t stop until we get to a million [dollars] – these men had young families.
Shuchat attended the festivities on Sunday that ended in tragedy, but left about two minutes before the shooting started.
“I don’t know why,” she says of her and her husband, Rabbi Yossi Shuchat’s, miraculous escape:
All we can do now is kindness. That’s the only thing we can do. There’s nothing more, nothing less.
Updated
Melbourne fundraising event for Palestinians in Gaza postponed in response to Bondi attack
A Gathering for Gaza, a Melbourne fundraiser for Palestinians in Gaza featuring live music and speakers, scheduled to take place this Sunday, has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for January, organisers have said.
In a statement this afternoon, the organisers said the community needed “a moment to process and grieve”.
This is the full statement:
We’re deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred at Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.
Our hearts go out to all those affected, their loved ones and the wider Jewish community.
‘A Gathering for Gaza’ is about providing a place for people to gather, rest, breathe and importantly to raise much needed funds for Palestinians suffering in Gaza.
We all need a moment to process and grieve. We will be postponing ‘A Gathering for Gaza’ to a date in January and will be back with more information shortly.
All tickets will remain valid however refunds will be available directly via Oztix for anyone unable to make the new date. Thank you for your understanding.
Updated
Ahmed al-Ahmed’s business flooded with five-star Google reviews
People have also found Ahmed al-Ahmed’s shop online, with a flood of tributes, messages and five-star reviews appearing on the Sutherland tobacconist’s Google Maps listing on Tuesday afternoon.
“Thank you for your bravery”, “Australian hero”, “national legend” were among the messages left on the business listing. “We all hope if ever tested we could step up to the call as you have done,” one user wrote.
“I’m considering taking up smoking just so I can shop here,” wrote another.
It’s also worth noting that reviews from more than a year ago praised the shop’s owner as being “so helpful and lovely”, “super friendly” and “always up for a chat”.
Funerals for shooting victims to begin tomorrow, rabbi tells Bondi Pavilion memorial
The Jewish community will begin burying their dead tomorrow, Rabbi Yossi Friedman has told the crowd at the Bondi Pavilion memorial.
He reads the names of the nine victims so far identified, as he has been doing all day. He then led the crowd in a traditional Jewish song of peace, followed by Advance Australia Fair and the Israeli national anthem. He said:
Lest this moment pass without us being truly impacted, we can take away a bit of the light from these victims, who are really the best of us.
The crowd of mourners has thinned but the floral tributes continue to grow. There are now spaces on some of the park benches circling the forecourt of the Bondi Pavilion and a young woman sits alone on one, weeping.
“I’ve come to rip off the Band-Aid,” she says, asking not to be identified. A close friend of her mother’s was one of the victims. Her cousin, who attended the Hanukah celebrations at Bondi on Sunday with her two children, aged 6 and 4, escaped with their lives.
The woman said:
She dodged bullets – on her birthday.
I’ve always kept my religion quiet, because I run a tech business, but not today. It’s time to stand up to those bastards.
Updated
Residents leave flowers and messages of thanks outside hero bystander’s shop
Since it was first reported that the hero who we now know as Ahmed al-Ahmed owned a shop in Sutherland, there has been much speculation in the Sutherland community about who this man is and how the community can thank him.
It seems the community in Sutherland has their answer. On my way home from work today, I passed a small memorial at the tobacco shop opposite the Sutherland train station.
When I asked a woman working at the neighbouring chemist, she told me it was indeed Ahmed’s shop and that she was extremely touched by the community response.
She said:
He is a very nice man. Whenever we need something he would offer to help.
People have been coming by and dropping flowers all day, I am speechless at the way the community has responded.
Flowers were laid with messages saying “thank you” and “we love you”. One read “you are an Aussie hero”. A sign taped to his door read “we are so very proud of you”, from “Sutherland residents”.
I was only there for a few minutes on my way home. But in those moments, members of the community stopped to take photos, people in groups lingered a bit longer and remarked to themselves about his bravery.
Updated
Penny Wong speaks to Philippine foreign affairs secretary
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has spoken to the Philippines’ foreign affairs secretary, Tess Lazaro, about the Bondi shooting in the past few hours.
Lazaro offered her condolences to Australia and heard updates from Wong on the investigation under way in Sydney.
Wong said:
I am grateful for Foreign Secretary Lazaro’s condolences on behalf of the Philippines following the antisemitic Bondi terror attack.
Australia and the Philippines are strategic partners with longstanding cooperation on defence, education and regional security.
Updated
NSW health authorities provide update on injured victims
As of 4.30pm, there were 24 patients receiving care in Sydney hospitals for injuries sustained in the Bondi shooting, according to the latest update from NSW Health.
A NSW Health spokesperson said:
Patients continue to be discharged. Some patients who are discharged may return to hospital for further care, and are included in the number of patients reported below.
This is the situation as of 4.30pm today:
Two patients are in a stable condition at Prince of Wales hospital.
One patient is in a critical but stable condition, and one patient is in a stable condition at St George hospital.
One patient is in a stable condition at Sydney Eye hospital.
Two patients are in a critical condition, two patients are in a critical but stable condition and two patients are stable at St Vincent’s hospital.
One patient is in a critical condition, two patients are in a critical but stable condition and three patients are stable at Royal Prince Alfred hospital.
Two patients are in a stable condition at Sydney children’s hospital, Randwick.
Three patients are in a stable condition at Royal North Shore hospital.
Two patients are in a stable condition at Liverpool hospital.
Updated
Record blood donations show Australia’s strength, says governor general
The governor general has praised record donations of blood as “a testament to the strength of our country”.
Earlier today, Sam Mostyn spoke to reporters in Sydney ahead of a visit to Lifeblood donation centres to see people donating blood, who she described as “heroes in their own way”.
Mostyn said:
Seeing those lines coming out of Lifeblood offices is a wonderful testament to the strength of our country … It tells me that Australians are good-spirited, always wanting to help, and when we ask [for help] and trust that the best in people prevails, that’s what does happen.
Mostyn urged all Australians to give blood if they could and keep finding ways to show support for the Jewish community and for each other:
Everyone can find those small moments to reach out to those that are hurting to ensure that we stand together, we stand with the Jewish community, we stand against antisemitism and all forms of discrimination … We find the very best of our country.
Updated
Leading advocacy foundation calls for raft of new gun control legislation
Leading gun control advocate Walter Mikac, whose wife and two daughters were among the 35 people killed in the Port Arthur massacre, has endorsed stronger gun laws in the aftermath of the Bondi beach shooting.
In a statement issued by the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, which Mikac co-founded in memory of his two daughters, he said:
Honouring those killed at Bondi Beach – and the legacy of my daughters, Alannah and Madeline – requires more than words of sympathy. It requires courage and a renewed commitment to public safety as the guiding principle of our firearm laws. Australia has led the world before – we can, and must, do so again.
The foundation called on the federal government and national cabinet to implement a raft of new protections, including limiting the number of firearms per individual, explicitly prohibiting the use of firearms by children, restricting more firearm categories and ending home storage of non-occupational weapons in metropolitan areas.
The foundation’s chief executive, Sarah Davies, said:
We stand ready to work with leaders across the country. The choices made now will determine whether this moment becomes another turning point or a missed opportunity to save lives.
Updated
Alleged shooter Naveed Akram emerges from coma
Alleged Bondi shooter Naveed Akram, who has been in hospital in a coma since the incident on Sunday, has regained consciousness, NSW police have confirmed. We’ll bring you more on this when we have it.
Updated
‘It’s hit home pretty hard’: Australia and England cricket captains describe their reactions to attack
Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins has said the tragic events at Bondi beach “hit home pretty hard” as they unfolded on Sunday night just down the road from his home in the neighbouring Sydney suburb of Bronte.
As the cricket world prepares to pay tribute to the victims of the Bondi beach terror attack when the third Ashes Test gets under way in Adelaide on Wednesday, Cummins and England captain, Ben Stokes, revealed the profound impact the massacre had on them and their teammates.
“Like most other Aussies and people in the world, I was just horrified watching on,” Cummins said.
We had just put the kids to bed and flicked on the news as that was coming through. Me and my wife were watching in disbelief.
It’s a place that’s just around the corner from where we live and we take the kids there all the time. It’s hit home pretty hard. We really feel for the Bondi community and the Jewish community in particular.
Stokes said it was “an awful thing to watch unfold”.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Guardian contributor Nadine Cohen was leaving a yoga class in Bondi, just opposite the pavilion, when the shooting started on Sunday. She has written for us about her experience here:
Sajid Akram travelled to Philippines as ‘Indian national’, Manila authorities say
The father and son accused of being behind the deadly Bondi beach mass shooting spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines, that country’s immigration department has confirmed, with Sajid Akram entering the country as an “Indian national”.
Akram and his son Naveed, who allegedly killed 15 people and wounded dozens of others at a Hanukah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi beach, arrived on 1 November with the southern province of Davao listed as their final destination, Agence France-Press reports.
Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval told AFP:
Sajid Akram, 50, Indian national, and Naveed Akram, 24, Australian national, arrived in the Philippines together last November 1, 2025 from Sydney, Australia.
Sandoval said the men departed on 28 November.
Updated
Here’s video of Syrian-born Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, who risked his life to disarm one of the alleged Bondi shooters and save multiple lives, thanking supporters as he receives treatment in hospital.
Mayors from around NSW to visit Bondi memorial
The mayor of Waverley, Will Nemesh, has been speaking to media at Bondi Pavilion.
On Thursday at midday, mayors from around the state will lay floral tributes at the pavilion, Nemesh said.
An extraordinary meeting of the council has been called for this evening, where Nemesh says:
[W]e will outline our council’s response in how we’re going to support our community and specifically our Jewish community.
What the mayoral minute will entail is support in the amount of $100,000 for our community that will be made immediately available for applications to be made to our general manager and in consultation with myself and the general manager to be dispersed among organisations supporting individuals and our community on the frontline.
We will also be providing a dedicated space in one of our facilities for the members of our community to come together, to talk, to decompress. It will be a safe space.
Updates about the council’s planned New Year’s Eve celebrations will be made soon, Nemesh said.
Updated
NSW Council for Civil Liberties welcomes calls to curb ‘alarming number’ of firearms
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) has welcomed national cabinet’s commitment to developing stricter gun control laws.
In a statement this afternoon, the NSWCCL said that the 1,133,690 registered firearms in New South Wales, according to the firearms registry report, is “an alarming number”.
The statement said:
NSWCCL has never been supportive of a right to bear arms. The NSWCCL urges the government to consider effective means of controlling firearms, and eliminating the most dangerous firearms to reduce the risk of gun crime in the community. There must also be effective measures to counter the influence of the firearms industry. It was only a short time ago that NSW rejected moves to legislate a right to hunt.
The NSWCCL president, Timothy Roberts, said:
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person and this must be the prevailing consideration. This means taking effective action to reduce gun crime, inappropriate gun use and the risk of guns being stolen and used illegally.
A person should not be able to own as many guns as they wish and the pattern of an ever increasing number of guns in our community since 1996 must end. The more guns in the community, the less secure we are, and any gun reform needs to be weighed against that cost.
Updated
‘How did they get away with having so many big guns?’
Fear is not new for Kobi Farkash. The Israeli citizen lived through the 7 October attacks in 2023, and subsequent conflict. But he didn’t expect to see terror arrive at Bondi beach.
Farkash has been in Sydney for around two weeks. He says Hanukah is something “very joyful” for families and was excited to see celebrations occurring when he arrived at Bondi beach on Sunday afternoon:
I was enjoying the beach, I didn’t know about the festival and I just heard the Jewish music and went inside. I was enjoying eating the doughnuts, walking around, for about 10, 15 minutes, and then I heard shooting, gunfire.
I thought it was fireworks, then I came closer and saw someone on the ground with blood. In that moment I realised it was a terrorist attack and ran away. I just kept running, running on the beach until I felt more safe.
Farkash says he thought Sydney was one of the safest places you could go.
When tourists come to Israel they see a lot of police, a lot of soldiers and people don’t feel safe. Here, you don’t see much security, much police, so it feels like the safest place to travel.
He questioned how long it took the police to arrive, and how long the gunmen were able to shoot.
I was thinking, where is the police? The gunmen kept going one by one … in Israel, when something like that happens, in two or three minutes you can see 20, 30 ambulances coming with the police, especially in a big city … and how did they get away with having so many big guns?
I asked someone, ‘why are you gathering in the open air with not much police?’, and he told me, ‘no one expects something like this would be in Bondi,’ it’s the most touristic, multicultural area, nobody thought these attacks would happen.
He also singled out Ahmed al-Ahmad, the Syrian-born man who attacked one of the shooters.
It shows Australians, they can see all the people, all the religions, they understand it’s against Australian people and against Sydney. Everyone wants to protect the life of people here.
Updated
David and Janine, a Jewish couple, arrived at the Bondi Pavilion at about 6.30am.
The couple’s granddaughter, 12, was at Bondi Pavilion during the terror attack, celebrating a friend’s Bat Mitzvah. They were all safe, but spent the celebration in lockdown.
Janine says she doesn’t think they’ve processed “the enormity” of what’s happened:
Some kids didn’t know what to do, so they ran. I’m still trying to come to terms with all that’s happened … every day, you hear more stories, and we’re in shock and sadness ... the thing that breaks my heart is my granddaughter always says my happy place is swimming at the sea at Bondi, and she was the one that was here.
Janine works in an aged care facility where there are many Holocaust survivors, who she says are going through extreme trauma:
Every day when they read the news, when there’s antisemitic attacks, car bombs, they just go back and remember Germany pre-Holocaust, and they’re fearful.
There’s not only Jewish people here [at the pavilion], there’s people from everywhere, Australians that feel as sad as we do.
David says all the Jewish community can do now is “help each other, give support, and stand together”, with the help of fellow Australians:
It doesn’t matter your religion, it’s just humanity. There’s radicals on every side and we just have to be strong in our community and carry on. Reclaim Bondi, this belongs to everybody here and we shouldn’t let people discourage us from coming here.
Bipartisan support in NSW for parliament recall for gun reform
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, indicated earlier that state parliament could be recalled before Christmas to strengthen gun laws agreed in principle at national cabinet.
He said he had not a “detailed discussion” with the leader of the opposition, Kellie Sloane, but thanked her for her bipartisan support after the attack:
We don’t have a draft bill, what I have been able to say is that she’s been incredible working with us over the last 24-48 hours.
Earlier, Sloane told 2GB she supported parliament’s early recall:
Look, if legislative change is required, then NSW opposition support recalling NSW parliament as quickly as possible.
We need a bipartisan approach, but we also need a bipartisan approach to hate speech, and we must draw a line in the sand, and this must be the wake-up call that this country needed to take tougher action to be firm on antisemitism.
The NSW Nationals leader, Gurmesh Singh, told the ABC this morning his party was ready for parliament to be recalled, but had yet to see substantive policy proposals.
Greens upper house member Sue Higginson has said the party supported changes to gun control laws outlined by the premier and prime minister, and has also called for a fresh national buyback scheme of “high-powered and excess weapons”, which the premier has yet to announce a position on.
Minns said that one aspect of reform that is “absolutely essential” was the use of criminal intelligence in determining whether someone should keep a gun licence.
Updated
Tributes to victims read out at memorial
Rabbi Yossi Freedman, a former senior rabbi at Maroubra synagogue and local to Sydney’s eastern suburbs, arrived at Bondi Pavilion early on Tuesday morning and has been there for most of the day.
Every few hours, he reads the names of the identified victims to the crowd, and leads them in rounds of prayer and song.
One victim he singled out was Alex Kleytman, 87, who had survived the Holocaust before being fatally shot on Sunday evening. Freedman said he was succeeded by his grandchildren, who were also at the Hanukah event:
Alex was just here at a family event with his wife, his family, and he was murdered. He survived the horrors of the Holocaust just to be murdered here, at Bondi beach, what is supposed to be a safe space.
He also spoke of Tibor Weitzen, a relative of Kleytman’s wife, whose granddaughter was sitting next to him at the event.
He was brutally murdered in front of her. He was 78 years old, his granddaughter, pregnant, about to give birth any day. She’s now going through this trauma. Tibor was known to be the most generous, loving, kind, compassionate, selfless person. In fact, he was just swimming with his great granddaughter and his granddaughter on Sunday morning. They had no idea this would be the last time that they would be together.
Updated
Federal government overrules exclusion clauses for Bondi attack insurance claims
The federal government has exercised powers that allow them to overrule insurance companies that may attempt to reject claims related to Sunday’s shooting on the basis that their policies don’t cover for terrorism.
A statement this afternoon from assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino said the government had “declared Sunday’s Bondi attack a terrorist incident for the purposes of the Terrorism and Cyclone Insurance Act 2003, based on advice from relevant agencies and following consultation with the Minister for Home Affairs.”
The statement continued:
This will ensure businesses can lodge insurance claims related to the Bondi terrorist attack.
No business affected by this despicable act should have a legitimate claim denied due to terrorism exclusions in their insurance policies.
This declaration overrules any terrorism exclusion clauses in affected businesses’ insurance policies and means providers can’t refuse claims on the grounds that losses arise from an act of terrorism.
Relevant claims include commercial property damage, business continuity losses, and public liability.
Updated
Ahmed al-Ahmed thanked by King Charles and governor general, likely to receive bravery award
The governor general, Sam Mostyn, says she expects to give a bravery award to the man who tackled one of the alleged Bondi shooters, and said King Charles has thanked him for his “absolute heroics”.
Mostyn is visiting Ahmed al-Ahmed as he recovers from surgery in hospital, bringing flowers from Admiralty House. She told reporters she hoped to check in on Ahmed and speak to his family to thank him for his efforts:
Ahmed was the very best in that moment and has shown us what courage and bravery looks like, and has acted completely selflessly.
The governor-general, who invests Australians with formal awards for bravery, said she expected Ahmed would be recognised for his efforts:
It would be staggering that he wouldn’t be receiving some form of bravery award … I think he’s been nominated many, many times already and in the context of what we saw, of course he is a brave man who has done something truly heroic.
Mostyn said she spoke to the king overnight, and he asked her to pass on his best wishes to those who had been injured and lost loved ones in Sunday’s attack, as well as specifically asking about Ahmed:
For Ahmed, he wants to send thanks for he had watched at close range that moment of absolute heroics that we’ve all been staggered by and so grateful for.
Updated
Bondi Junction inquest findings delayed 'out of respect'
Delivery of the inquest findings into the 2024 stabbings at Westfield Bondi Junction will be delayed out of respect for the victims of the Bondi beach shooting.
The NSW state coroner, Magistrate Teresa O’Sullivan, had intended to deliver her findings before Christmas, but after consulting with families of the stabbing victims has decided to postpone, according a statement from the court today.
The Bondi Junction inquest findings will now be delivered on 5 February 2026 at 10am at the coroner’s court of NSW, the statement said.
O’Sullivan extended her deepest condolences to all those people affected by both events.
Updated
Micaela was one of the two women who broke into Jewish prayers during Hanson and Joyce’s visit. She said the pair were concerned the presence of Hanson and Joyce was distracting from the purpose of the memorial, which was to reflect.
Micaela said there was a “lot of emotion” in the air and a “lot of work” that Australia needed to do to heal:
This is sacred ground for us to build the unity and connection of all people, so that’s why we decided to sing a Jewish prayer.
Everyone is coming, I hope, with an open heart, because they’re in pain and they want to pay their respects and find their own healing and honour these precious people.
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Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce visit Bondi memorial
The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, and her new recruit, former Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, have visited the Bondi Pavilion to large cheers and calls of “we love you Pauline”.
The pair came to lay a large bouquet of flowers but were quickly waylaid by a huge crowd of people and media, including rightwing activist Avi Yemini.
Some sections of the crowd called out “make Australia great again”, “sack Albanese” and “thank you Pauline”.
Hanson told reporters she had been “ridiculed for years” for calling out antisemitism but wanted to “stamp out hatred”:
I’ve been had a go at, but I’ve stood strong.
Joyce, wearing his signature hat, called the shooting a “barbaric act of mass murder” that should be a “tipping point” for Australia.
During their impromptu address, two women broke into Jewish prayers.
Updated
With that, I am going to hand you over to Stephanie Convery, who will take you through the afternoon.
Updated
Summary of the latest official press conference on the Bondi beach shootings
And that is the end of the conference.
To wrap it up:
New South Wales’ premier, Chris Minns, said he was “determined to bring in the toughest gun laws in Australia” and defended the police response on the ground on Sunday afternoon.
Anthony Albanese, meanwhile, said the country stands with the Jewish community.
NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon spoke about the crime scene and the ongoing investigation into the shooting, confirming two Islamic State flags were found in a vehicle belonging to one of the alleged shooters and that they had travelled to the Philippines in recent weeks.
Updated
Albanese says ‘it is a time for national unity’ and says Labor stands ready to work across parliament
The PM has been asked if he is disappointed in the lack of bipartisan support from the opposition on possible changes to our gun laws. He says:
Look, this is not a time for politics, it is a time for national unity. I think we have organised for the leader of the opposition to receive a briefing from the security agencies yesterday.
I think her statement on Sunday night was entirely appropriate and we stand ready to work across the parliament.
He says Australia has to come together as a nation.
What Australians want is to work together. What terrorists seek to do is to create division. They create conflict and undermine social cohesion. We are a better country than that, and we can’t allow their objective to be successful. That is why we must come together as a nation.
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Minns on antisemitism and gun reform: ‘We have to do all these things together’
Minns has been asked if he should concentrate more on antisemitism rather than gun reform. He says:
We have to do all these things together. That is the truth. This is a horrible crime and I think taking one action would be nowhere near enough to combat the scale of the challenges that are in front of us.
Yes, we do have to do gun reform.
It is important that we fight antisemitism, and one of the things about antisemitism is it begins with hate speech, then it might be a chant at a rally, then it moves online. Then it becomes graffiti on a Jewish building, then it is malicious damage, then arson and it escalates to the kind of horrific violence that we saw yesterday.
We have to combat it across the board.
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PM says government is doing ongoing work on antisemitism
Albanese has been asked if national cabinet discussed Jillian Segal’s report to combat antisemitism.
He says:
No, we referenced the ongoing work, including a national hate crime incident database. We have taken the report from the antisemitism envoy and what we are doing is busy implementing it. We talked about that yesterday. We went through the full range of measures which, we are doing.
I talked about it, including the hate speech, Nazi symbols, what we’re doing on doxing and what we have done with the creation of the national student ombudsman, the education program … as well as security, migration issues and cultural issues as well.
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Albanese says Islamic State’s ‘radical perversion of Islam' is a problem
The PM is back. Albanese says:
It would appear that there is evidence that this was inspired by a terrorist organisation, by Isis. Some of the evidence which is being procured, including the presence of Islamic State flags in the vehicle that has been seized, are part of that.
[The] radical, perversion of Islam is absolutely a problem. It is something that has been identified globally as a problem as well. Isis created an evil ideology that has been called out, not just by the Australian government but globally right now.
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Minns continues defence of NSW police
Minns says it’s disrespectful to officers who were on the scene, who put their lives on the line to help.
I don’t think there is any doubt that if we had our time again, of course, we would do things differently.
I can’t take back Sunday. Nobody can. What we can do is ensure that in the future, we are putting security in place so we rebuild trust with the Jewish community. I know this is an existential threat for some members of the Jewish community because it was a targeted attack on members of the Jewish community.
Updated
Premier backs NSW police response and rejects assertions they did not live up to their responsibilities
Under rapid questioning over whether NSW police provided enough security for the Jewish community event at Bondi, Chris Minns has jumped back in.
He says:
I feel it is incredibly important of me, as the premier of New South Wales, to respond to some of these questions. The New South Wales police acted with bravery and integrity. They engaged the gunmen on the footbridge with handguns. They didn’t take a backward step.
The offenders had long-range rifles and New South Wales police officers were responsible for killing one of them and shooting the other one and as a result saving many people’s lives.
There are two officers in critical care in New South Wales hospitals at the moment. They weren’t shot in the back as they were running away. They were shot in the front.
I’m sorry to be graphic about it, but if there is any suggestion that New South Wales police didn’t live up to their responsibilities to the people of this state, it should be rejected because it is not consistent with the facts.
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NSW police commissioner denies intelligence failure
Asked if this is an intelligence failure, Lanyon says:
Not that I’m aware of and I don’t believe it was an intelligence failure at all. We are talking about something that is retrospective.
Post [this] horrific crime, this will be a thorough investigation. New South Wales police and the AFP are committed to that. We are finding information post the event.
Updated
Reason why Akrams travelled to Philippines is unknown at this stage: police
Asked if the Akrams travelled to the Philippines to undergo terrorist training, Lanyon said:
I think we have been fairly clear that the reason the Akrams travelled to the Philippines, where they went, is unknown at this stage and subject to the investigation.
Updated
Joint counter-terrorism team operating ‘around the clock’ on investigation
Barrett:
The New South Wales joint counter-terrorism team which includes the AFP, New South Wales police, Asio and the New South Wales Crime Commission is continuing to review the significant material seized during search warrants and we will not provide further details of that material today for obvious reasons.
We understand words and information are important for context and comfort, however we are very much focused on action, including conducting a thorough investigation. This investigation will be highly visible, precise and it will operate around the clock.
The New South Wales joint counter-terrorism team investigation will leverage all unique powers, capabilities and international networks.
Updated
AFP commissioner: alleged shooters ‘aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion’
The Australian Federal Police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, has just spoken – she says the alleged shooters “aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion.”
Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State, allegedly committed by a father and son. There is no evidence to suggest other individuals were involved in this attack, however we caution that this could change given it is early in our investigation.
Alleged evidence has provided investigators with a swathe of information that has enabled them to make this initial assessment about the alleged individuals involved and their motivations.
These are the alleged actions of those who have aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion.
Updated
Police commissioner issues correction: accused shooter had gun licence issued in 2023, not 2015
Lanyon says gunman Naveed Akram had a gun licence since 2023, not 2015 as previously thought:
I would like to correct a record. I have been indicating that Sajid Akram, a 50-year-old male, has held a firearms licence since 2015. Mr Akram applied for that licence on 8 October 2015, and it was recommended that it be issued in November 2015.
I’m advised that he did not get a photo taken, as required by that licence, and the application lapsed in 2016. A second Category AB licence was applied for by Mr Akram in 2020. That licence was recommended for issue, and issued in 2023.
I think it’s important that the transparent nature of the investigation provides that change.
The initial information had been that it had been issued in 2015, and I think it’s important to give that detail. He was licensed to hold a Category AB licence, and the firearms that we have seized were attached to that licence appropriately.
Updated
Police stand behind Jewish community, commissioner says
Lanyon:
I want to make it very clear to the Jewish community, as we did to their leaders yesterday, that the New South Wales police stands right beside you. We are here to keep you safe. I want the community to feel safe and be able to go around their way of life.
New South Wales police will maintain a significant response in Operation Shelter to ensure that the community can go about their normal way of life.
Updated
Lanyon says crime scene to stay in place until tomorrow
Lanyon says there is a critical incident investigation, which investigates the role of police in the matter, and a joint counter-terrorism operation running at the same time.
He says the crime scene in Bondi will be in place until tomorrow.
There is still a crime scene in place in Campbell Parade and down around Bondi Beach. I anticipate that will stay in place until tomorrow afternoon, where it will be released to the public. We continue with forensic and ballistic examinations.
I have made it really clear in previous conferences that this will be a thorough investigation. I apologise for the disruptions to pedestrians and traffic while that crime scene is in place
Updated
Police commissioner confirms Islamic State flags found in car belonging to gunmen
The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, is now speaking. Lanyon says two ISIS flags were found in one of the vehicles used by the alleged gunmen:
There have been reports in the news about our two offenders travelling to the Philippines last month. I can confirm that they did travel to the Philippines. The reasons why they went to the Philippines, and the purpose of that, and where they went when they were there, is under investigation at the moment.
I also confirmed that the vehicle, which is registered to the younger male, contained IEDs, but I also confirm … that it contained two homemade Isis flags.
We continue to work through the motive of this tragedy. And we’ll continue to do so.
I think it’s really important that our investigators continue to be given time to do that. This is a very complex investigation, and important that we do it thoroughly.
Updated
PM says national cabinet has agreed to accelerate gun record digitisation
The PM:
It is a fact that, for some states and territories, they still have paper records. And that obviously makes it impossible to check across boundaries in a quick and efficient manner.
The digitisation that is required, we’ve agreed to accelerate that.
He says this afternoon he will meet with the National Security Committee.
Updated
PM confirms national cabinet agreement on gun laws
The PM says National Cabinet has agreed to stregthen Australia’s gun laws.
The very nature of our gun laws means that they are only as strong as the weakest link, which is why we wanted to make sure that they followed Premier Minns’ lead in committing to strengthening the gun laws that were, of course, created in the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy some 30 years ago.
To give credit to the Howard government of that time, and the bipartisan nature in which it was adopted.
The consideration that will take place includes limiting the number of guns an individual can own, the type of guns that are legal, whether gun ownership should require Australian citizenship, and accelerating work on the National Firearms Register.
Updated
PM: 'My message to Jewish Australians is that we stand with you as a nation'
The PM is up now. He says:
My message to Jewish Australians is that we stand with you as a nation. We embrace you at what is a terrible time. These anti-Semitic terrorist attacks will not be successful with their objective, which is to divide us as a nation.
He says Australians will continue to come together and that he has gone to visit Ahmed in hospital, meeting his parents and thanking him for his heroism.
I was able to also thank the health professionals, the doctors, nurses and staff at St George Hospital, for providing support for him. Sunday’s tragedy will have, of course, an immediate and lasting impact on many Australians, but the Jewish community here in Sydney and nationally, first responders and people in Bondi and Sydney. The impact will be particularly acute.
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Minns says we will ‘do everything we possibly can’ to ensure tragedy is not repeated
Minns:
This has been a tragic event, tragic event, for the Jewish community of New South Wales and Australia. But we’re determined to meet it head-on with a program and a set of reforms to ensure that we do everything we possibly can to ensure that it’s not repeated.
Updated
Minns says there have been 50,000 appointments to give blood in New South Wales.
Which I understand is a fivefold increase. I’d say to the people of New South Wales - don’t give up. If you haven’t got an appointment, if you can’t get in immediately, we require your blood.
To put this in perspective, for somebody in trauma, they may need 100 individual donations to save their life.
He says there will be “small business help” for those small businesses in the Bondi community impacted by this.
I want to make it clear - none of the shopkeepers, none of them, have complained about this at all. But we want to have their back as they open their doors in the coming days.
Updated
Minns promises ‘toughest gun laws in Australia’
New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, is addressing the media now. He says the response “must be comprehensive” and has begun already.
He says:
I want to make it clear that our efforts to, firstly, work with the New South Wales police on counter-terrorism efforts continue.
Secondly, fighting antisemitism in our community, which will not be done in a week or a month, but it’s a long-term important project for the government of New South Wales, working with civic leaders and the people of this state.
Thirdly, gun-law reform in New South Wales, with legislation brought into the New South Wales Parliament to make gun laws tougher in this state. I’m determined to bring in the toughest gun laws in Australia, and they’ll be significantly tightened in New South Wales.
Lastly, he says it is important to bring NSW together during this time.
Updated
Health update on victims
The latest update is that there is now 24 patients receiving treatment across 8 hospitals across Sydney.
Of those, eight are now in a critical or a critical-but-stable condition. That number was 10 earlier today.
Three children are listed as being in a stable condition at the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick.
We will bring you more on the patients as we have it.
Updated
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and New South Wales police are about to address the media. We are standing by for that and will bring you it, as soon as they are up.
Recap: Tuesday morning at Bondi
The crowd of mourners at Bondi Pavilion was quiet and sombre on Tuesday. A diverse array gathered, from dog walkers to babies in strollers and elderly couples in running gear.
Some wrapped their arms around each other, whilst others carried flowers to lay at an ever-growing memorial. A woman still in her bathers and towel stared at the display with tears flowing down her cheeks. Many stood arms crossed in reflective silence.
A Jewish group was handing out free sufganiyot - a traditional Jewish doughnut popular during Hanukkah - and leading prayers.
The Australian and Israeli flags were hung at the pavilion’s gates.
A portion of Campbell Parade was still cut off to traffic, with police tape hung by strewn electric bicycles. There was still a large police presence on the ground, as well as council vehicles sweeping the streets.
Bondi Beach also remained cut off to traffic, though some still entered the surf or walked on the shoreline. Beside Archer Park, where the suiting shook place, the outdoor Sunset Cinema still looked abandoned, with bean bags strewn across the grass and the fencing half fallen on the ground.
Among those to visit the pavilion and pay their respects were the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, Liberal MP Julian Leeser, the Sydney Swans Football Club, Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, the NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, and the local member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender.
Updated
PM visits heroic bystander in hospital: video
Albanese has shared a video of his visit with Bondi hero Ahmed al Ahmed. In the video, he says:
Ahmed your heart is strong. Your courage is inspiring.
In response, Ahmed puts his hand on his heart and says, “Thank you very much.”
The PM posted the video with the caption:
Ahmed, you are an Australian hero.
You put yourself at risk to save others, running towards danger on Bondi Beach and disarming a terrorist.
In the worst of times, we see the best of Australians. And that’s exactly what we saw on Sunday night.
On behalf of every Australian, I say thank you.
Updated
The daughter of Bondi terror attack victim Reuven Morrison says her father is the man seen in footage hurling an object at gunman Sajid Akram after he had been disarmed by bystander Ahmed al-Ahmed.
Speaking on CBS News, Sheina Gutnick says her father “jumped up the second the shooting started”. She went on:
He managed to throw bricks, he was screaming at the terrorist, and protecting his community, he was shot dead. If there was one way for him to go on this earth, it would be fighting a terrorist. There was no other way he would be taken from us. He went down fighting, protecting the people he loved most.
Asked if that was in his character, Gutnick said: “Yes - he’s not one to lie down, he is one to run towards danger ... That’s my Dad. As I called him, my Tati, in Yiddish”:
Everyone [who] knew him knew the incredible man that was just too big for this world. The light that he added, his absolute immense and endless generosity, his sense of humour. He was just the most incredible person.
Gutnick blamed the Australian government for his death, saying “they have had the warning signs for so long”.
Updated
Albanese added:
We will not allow this country to be divided.
That is what the terrorists seek. We will unite. We will embrace each other and we will get through this.
Updated
PM says Ahmed al-Ahmed ‘the best of our country’ after hospital visit
Anthony Albanese has praised the man who tackled a Bondi shooter as an inspiration to all Australians and “the best of our country”.
The prime minister has just left St George hospital after visiting Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, who he said had been visiting Bondi on Sunday with friend and family. Albanese spoke to Ahmed about the Syrian-born man’s thought processes, telling reporters:
He was trying to get a cup of coffee. Simple as that. And found himself at a moment where people were being shot in front of him. He decided to take action and his bravery is an inspiration for all Australians. He is a very humble man.
Albanese said it had been a great honour to meet Ahmed:
“At a moment where we have seen evil perpetrated, he shines out as an example of the strength of humanity. We are a brave country. Ahmed al-Ahmed represents the best of our country.
The prime minister said he met Ahmed’s mother and father, visiting from Syria, who were very proud of their son. Ahmed had already been in surgery and would undergo further operations on Wednesday, he added.
Updated
Two NSW police officers remain in hospital in ‘serious but stable’ condition
NSW police said last night that two officers remain in hospital in a “serious but stable” condition.
As reported in the blog earlier, one officer has been named by police as Constable Scott Dyson, who has been attached to Bondi’s local eastern suburbs area command for 18 months.
The other officer has not been identified.
Updated
Adelaide Test to receive increased security as precautionary measure
Cricket fans heading to Adelaide Oval for the start of the third Ashes Test have been reassured that there is no increased threat level following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, but extra security will be put in place in and around the ground as a precautionary measure.
South Australia’s police commissioner, Grant Stevens, said special security-response police armed with rifles will be present at the match starting on Wednesday - the first major sporting event to be held since Sunday’s shooting - but fans should not be alarmed.
There’s a balance between the concern about police officers carrying rifles in and about the community, balanced with the need for us to be able to effectively respond to an event, should an event occur and these officers are specifically trained for that purpose.
There’s no intelligence at this time to indicate that there are any increased levels of threat or security risks around the cricket or any other community event.
But notwithstanding that, we apply a level of diligence to make sure that people attending can do so with that confidence that they are attending a safe and well-managed event.
Updated
Howard says his gun laws banning semiautomatic and automatic weapons prevented ‘infinitely bigger’ death toll
Asked about whether he supports reform on gun licenses and gun ownership, Howard says he’s not “aware of a crackdown”.
Last night’s national cabinet agreed to reform gun laws, including to stop gun licenses being granted in perpetuity.
Howard says that his gun laws, legislated after the Port Arthur massacre, would have stopped this tragedy having an even higher death toll.
What I am aware of that if the guns that my crackdown removed after Port Arthur had still been legally available, in other words automatic and semiautomatic weapons, the death toll gruesome though it was, it would be infinitely bigger.
Howard says he is open to changes to the legislation but concedes that there will always be “too many” guns in Australia.
There are truth there are too many guns in our community. People ignore laws, and it’s the potency of the weapon that was so drastically changed after Port Arthur. Just imagine if one of those criminals had had access to an automatic or semiautomatic weapon.
Updated
Howard accuses Albanese of failing to provide 'moral leadership' on denouncing antisemitism
Former PM John Howard is now speaking to journalists out of Sydney, and again says Anthony Albanese and foreign Penny Wong have not done enough over the past two years since 7 October 2023 to combat antisemitism.
Howard says Albanese hasn’t provided “moral leadership” in responding to antisemitism.
His greatest failure is not to provide the moral leadership that a prime minister can in denouncing antisemitism.
There is little doubt since 7 October 2023, not enough has been done by those who command authority and respect in our society to prevent cauterise and denounce the spread of antisemitism. And I hope that this terrible event will be a wake-up call to those who have been asleep at the wheel on this issue ...
I’m ashamed of the fact that our relationship with Israel has broken down. Israel has been an ally of Australia.
He again celebrates the bravery of Ahmed al-Ahmed as well as the police and emergency workers who saved lives at the scene.
Updated
John Howard praises Ahmed al-Ahmed’s courage
Jumping back to John Howard’s interview on Sky News, the former prime minister lauds the bravery of Ahmed al-Ahmed, who tackled one of the alleged gunmen and took his weapon from him.
Ahmed is in St George hospital – currently receiving a visit from the PM - while he recovers.
Howard says Ahmed’s actions are a reminder that the community should “not lose faith in the Australian achievement”.
I think that the single act of greatest courage we’ve seen is that magnificent man who tackled the bloke with the gun, and I understand he’s a Muslim … that is a reminder that there are good people of every persuasion in this wonderful country about and although it’s a terrible tragedy and a reminder that anything can happen here, we should not lose faith in the Australian achievement.
Updated
Prime minister visits Ahmed in hospital
Anthony Albanese is visiting the man who was injured disarming a Bondi gunman on Sunday.
The prime minister has just walked into St George hospital, where Ahmed al-Ahmed is recovering from his first round of surgery.
Albanese has praised Ahmed as a hero, as has the NSW premier. Chris Minns, who visited Ahmed in hospital and spoke to him on Monday night.
Updated
Howard continues Liberal attacks on Albanese claiming gun law changes are a ‘diversion’ to addressing antisemitism
Former Liberal prime minister, John Howard, says Anthony Albanese has let down Jewish Australians, and us using gun law changes as a “diversion” instead of tackling antisemitism.
Howard first brought in strict gun control in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 when 35 people were shot dead. Last night, after a national cabinet meeting, Albanese said there would be a further tightening of the laws.
But in an interview with Sky News, Howard says:
I don’t want that … to be degraded into a debate about changes to gun [laws], because that is a diversion. The issue here is antisemitism, the failure of the last two years has been that of the federal government, led by the prime minister Anthony Albanese, to bring sufficient energy to a broad-based attack on the evil of antisemitism.
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Hero Ahmed al-Ahmed speaks on video: ‘God willing, we will return to you with joy’
Türkiye’s public broadcaster, TRT World, has posted a video of Syrian-born Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, who risked his life to disarm one of the alleged Bondi attackers and save multiple lives in Sydney, receiving treatment in hospital.
In the video, Ahmed is seen being wheeled around hospital while he sends prayers to supporters.
In the video, which has been subtitled by TRT, he says:
I appreciate the efforts of everyone. May Allah reward you and grant you well-being. God willing, we will return to you with joy. Thank you for your efforts.
Abdullah, Ahmed Al and Bilal, thank you to everyone. I went through a very difficult phase, only Allah knows it. Praise be to Allah for everything, and may Allah reward you with your efforts.
I ask my mother, the apple of my eye, to pray for me. Pray for me, my mother.
Updated
Allan says best if states ‘act in concert’ on gun law reform
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, says she strongly supported the national cabinet decision to strengthen gun laws across the nation. While she has criticised the pace of national reform in the past, she says it’s her preference to “act in concert” on this occasion.
Allan went on:
It is best that we act in concert. It is best that we act as one nationally - and that was certainly the intention out of yesterday’s national cabinet meeting, that not only do we need to act in a uniform way, we need to act with urgency … The work has already started.
There is a very strong understanding that it does need to come about with some urgency but as you could appreciate, we also need to make sure we get this next set of gun law reform right, and so that in terms of the drafting of the laws that will take the time it takes, but will be done with a sense of urgency.
Asked why the state was yet to move onto the national firearms register, Allan says they were working towards the 2028 deadline. She says:
The prime minister made it clear that he would like to see that date accelerated, and that is a commitment that we have given, and we’ll be looking at how we can bring forward the work that’s been done here in Victoria.
The police minister, Anthony Carbines, says:
Our government is committed to doing everything we can to meet earlier timelines … and I’m sure that will form part of our discussions at the police minister’s council tomorrow.
Updated
Ashes Test to pay tribute to victims of Bondi shooting
Australian singer John Williamson will perform his fabled song “True Blue” before play on Day 1 of the Adelaide Ashes Test tomorrow as a tribute to the victims of the Bondi shootings.
The performance will take place as the cricket world comes together to mourn the victims of this tragedy, support their families, friends and the Jewish community, and to express its unity.
Todd Greenberg, Cricket Australia CEO, said:
This is a tragic time for all Australians and the thoughts of everyone in the cricket world are with the victims of this terrible event, their families, friends and the Jewish community.
While sport can seem insignificant at times like this, we have the unusual opportunity to bring millions of people together to pay tribute, to console and to contemplate what we want our nation to be.
As John said recently, ‘I believe in a multicultural society, one where all Australians come together in unity to celebrate our unique multicultural nature and freedoms’.
We will continue to look at ways cricket can support and honour those who have been affected by the Bondi shootings and thank those who provided assistance during and since this tragedy.
Updated
Premier says she understands response of boos and heckling to her presence at a shule last night
Allan is asked about the boos and heckling she received while attending a ceremony at a Caulfield shule last night. She says she understood why she received “that response”.
The premier goes on:
This is a community that is angry and is grieving. I understand that, and it’s why, as a leader, I show up and show my support, but also then take further action, which is why we’re here today.
We continue to take action every day to not just support the Jewish community, but go to some of the issues that Phil has identified around looking at every opportunity to deal with how you educate the evilness of antisemitism, understand history to help inform the present and build a stronger future.
Updated
Jewish leaders welcome funding but want to pursue more long-term solutions
In Victoria, standing with the premier is Elyse Schachna, the president of Zionism Victoria, who says that the announced funding is welcome but “short term”. She says:
It will address the issue short term but, long term, we have a bigger issue in our society to confront, and I’m very glad that the premier acknowledged that we have an issue and a problem of extremism in our state, in our country, and we look forward to seeing what will be put in place … to stamp out this extremism. It will take time, and the Jewish community cannot do it alone.
Phillip Zajac from the Jewish Community Council of Victoria says the Jewish community need “allies” from across Victoria to turn the tide against antisemitism:
We have to educate our way out of this. We need to humanise the Jewish people. We need to share our beautiful traditions. We need to explore the origins of antisemitism.
We need to remember the Holocaust, we need to be understood as Australians who have been here since the First Fleet, and are proud to contribute to this country, change will take time and the Jewish community cannot do it alone.
Updated
PM ‘absolutely certain’ Ahmed al-Ahmed will be recognised as a hero
Anthony Albanese has indicated he’ll visit Ahmed al-Ahmed, the man hailed as a hero who tackled one of the alleged gunmen and took the gun out of his hands, who is currently in hospital.
Ahmed, who is in critical but stable condition at St George hospital in Sydney, also received a visit from the NSW premier, Chris Minns, last night.
The PM spoke to Nova Sydney this morning.
He was asked: “Are you planning to visit [Ahmed] and can we expect him to be recognised or rewarded by the country for his bravery?”
Albanese responded: “I am.”
I spoke to the premier after he visited Ahmed yesterday. He told me he’s a great character, and that he had asked about whether I’d be visiting him. He is a hero ... I mean, it was extraordinary, that footage of essentially creeping up behind a gunman who’s involved in a mass shooting, and he was unarmed, and as a consequence he was shot twice as well, which is why he is in hospital.
He is a hero and that needs to be recognised and I’m absolutely certain that we will do that.
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He said he spoke to Eli Schlanger’s father yesterday.
Finally I would like to say that he has a widow. He has children. They don’t have a father today.
I sat with his father-in-law. One of the most beloved rabbis is not just in Australia but around the world. He was crying yesterday and said ‘the worst possible thing I would have to do, as a father, I have to sit with my grandchildren and tell them their father has been taken from us’.
His mother is sitting there with a husband who is dead and a son in the ICU.
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Rabbi Eli Schlanger mourned by Rabbi Eli Feldman
Rabbi Eli Feldman also spoke about his friend Rabbi Eli Schlanger:
The rabbi was like a brother to me. He has the same name, I studied together with him when we were teenagers.
What he would say right now is do another mitzvah. If you are a Jew, be more Jewish, wear your Star of David, be proud. We will be proud of who we are. Don’t water down your identity for the sake of being scared of what other people will say or do.
In addition, what the rabbi would say is not just for Jews but for every single Australian is be more godly. We are created in the image of God … Care for each other.
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Rabbi Eli Feldman says ‘the only way to stamp out darkness is with light’
Rabbi Eli Feldman spoke about the importance of coming together to stamp out hate:
Hanukah, which we are celebrating now, is the celebration of light. We light a candle and another candle. The only way to stamp out darkness is with light. Hatred, bigotry, evil, that is darkness. The Australian people need to combat that with the lights.
No matter the colour of their skin or what they believe, we are all created in the image of God. Every single human being is created in the image of God. Let’s love each other, care about each other.
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Rabbi Levi Woolf says Bondi attack is ‘a wake-up call’
Woolf:
It is a wake-up call. It is not just an attack on the Jewish community; it is an attack on every western-thinking person in this country.
Anybody who has value for life, anybody who appreciates every human being … Jewish Australians, non-Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist. I don’t care what religion you come from, you represent a child of God and you should be protected and not have to fear for your life.
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Rabbi says parents must teach children words of bigotry ‘have no place’
Rabbi Levi Woolf has spoken after the ambassador. He said:
This is a time to remind the Australian community that the only way we can eradicate antisemitism is to not wait for another press conference … but [for] mothers and fathers to sit down with their children at the dinner table and say that words of hate and words of evil, bigotry, have no place in our home.
Have no place on a university campus, have no place on social media.
Anyone who hears someone make a comment like that, sitting at a cocktail party, at a bar, sitting at a beach, stand up and face that person and say ‘this is country where we have always welcomed minorities’.
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Amir Maimon to meet with Chris Minns
Maimon said he would not comment on the government but that he was meeting with Chris Minns afterwards, whom he called a “dear friend to the community”.
I am not here to point fingers. I am here to embrace [the community]. I am here to hug the community and the Australian citizens that care about life here in Australia and care about the Australians of Jewish faith.
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Israeli ambassador says Australians of Jewish faith forced to worship ‘behind closed doors’
Maimon said he will not be able to understand how rabbis feel – he is speaking as a representative of the state of Israel, not the Jewish community.
The only community that is in need to go through security in order to exercise their right to worship their God is the Jewish community. I do not know when the last time that you visited a temple, a church or a mosque, the doors are open.
Only the Jewish, the Australians of Jewish faith are forced to worship their gods behind closed doors, CCTV, guards, it is insane. This is really insane.
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Amir Maimon says he warned against dangers of antisemitism
Maimon said he has warned against the dangers of antisemitism for the past four years and that he has visited every synagogue that has been attacked.
It is also very important to remember that, when we’re talking the Jewish community, we are talking first and foremost about Australians. Australian citizens.
From here, I would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to the community, to all Australians and to join the community and their call to the government to take all necessary measures to make sure that the life of every Australian, whether they are Jewish, Muslim or Christian, would be safe.
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Israeli ambassador to Australia says his heart ‘is torn apart’ by Bondi shootings
The Israeli ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, is speaking in Bondi.
My vocabulary is not rich enough to express how I feel. My heart is torn apart … The Jewish community, the Australians of Jewish faith, the Jewish community is also my community. My people. The people that were brutally murdered here are people that I have known. I have met.
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Allan announces $2m community safety package
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is holding a press conference at the Beth Weizmann Jewish Community Centre in Caulfield to announce a $2m community safety package.
The package includes:
$900m for the Community Safety Group to deploy further security measures at community events, holiday programs and Jewish cultural ceremonies
$250,000 to increase security at Jewish youth summer camps
$100,000 each for the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and the Rabbinical Council of Victoria
$280,000 for JewishCare, including for mental health services
An additional $250,000 will also be spent on a therapeutic intervention program to combat radicalisation.
Allan says:
This is immediate support because it will provide additional capacity for the Community Safety Group to be able to provide resources around a range of cultural events that will be going on and [for] school holiday programs that have been scheduled over this summer period.
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Pip Edwards, a fashion designer, was there on Sunday, and posted on Instagram about having to hide after the gunmen opened fire.
“The gun man [sic] fired his first round of shots right behind my girlfriend newand I as we had just passed the bridge were they were standing,” Edwards wrote in an Instagram post.
The shots continued to fire incessantly, and quite literally as close as two metres away.
We had to immediately take refuge under a van and watched the gunman’s feet with his gun pace in front of the van right at our heads, using our van as his post.
Edwards and her friend took cover and hid under the van for about 15 minutes until the shooting stopped.
I was convulsing with fear, trapped, thinking this was it for us. I cannot comprehend nor compute it at all.
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Gun law changes won’t stamp out antisemitism, opposition claim
The shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, says the opposition is open to supporting changes to gun laws but want to see the detail first.
Duniam spoke with ABC’s Radio National Breakfast earlier this morning, and said he’ll wait to see what proposals states and territories come back with on gun reforms before offering bipartisan support. But he said those reforms don’t go far enough on combating antisemitism.
Changes to gun laws that prevent serious incidents like this from happening will always be welcome, I think it’s important for us to see the detail.
But what a change to gun laws won’t do is stamp out antisemitism and that was the driver behind these attacks and we can’t forget that fixing the gun laws in some way will not prevent from happening what happened yesterday. If it’s not guns, it’s explosive devices, it’s knives, it’s other forms of attack weapons.
Duniam claims the government hasn’t acted on recommendations by Jillian Segal that would crack down in institutions like universities that allow “antisemitic behaviour to occur on campus”.
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One injured police officer identified as families thanks first responders
The families of two NSW police officers who were injured as they sought to apprehend the alleged gunmen have issued a statement, passing on their “thoughts to the loved ones of those who were killed and injured in the Bondi shooting tragedy”.
One of the officers has been named by NSW police as Constable Scott Dyson, who has been attached to Bondi’s local eastern suburbs area command for 18 months. Dyson remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
The NSW police commisioner, Mal Lanyon, said yesterday that the two officers suffered gunshot wounds as the multiple officers exchanged fire with the two alleged gunmen.
NSW police have yet to confirm the identity of the second officer, who was also taken to hospital following the attack.
In a statement shared on social media, NSW police said the families wanted to “express their heartfelt gratitude to all first responders who acted with courage, in particular the police officers and paramedics who responded”.
“They also wish to thank their hospital team, and especially those in ICU.”
“They thank the community for their support but have asked for privacy as their loved ones focus on recovery and healing.”
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Israel’s ZAKA Search and Rescue team has been deployed to Sydney to assist authorities and the Jewish community in ensuring proper kavod hameit — dignity for the dead in accordance with Jewish law, faith and tradition.
ZAKA’s CEO, Dubi Weissenstern:
Our mission is simple and unwavering: ZAKA is there for every Jew, no matter where they are, in times of crisis.
We bring deep experience from terror scenes, working hand-in-hand with law enforcement to preserve critical forensic evidence, while also ensuring the dead are treated with the utmost dignity and can be buried as quickly as possible in accordance with Jewish law.
ZAKA officials said responders will provide both technical assistance and spiritual support to local communities grappling with the aftermath of the attack.
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Nearly 50,000 people have registered to donate blood and plasma, more than double the previous Lifeblood record
Lifeblood said this morning nearly 50,000 people across the country have made appointments to donate blood, more than double the previous record.
The agency said a total of 7,810 donations of blood, plasma and platelets were made yesterday across Australia.
Lifeblood is urging people to continue booking appointments for donations through the week and the rest of the holiday season
In Sydney yesterday, lines to give donations stretched out the doors and around the building of the Lifeblood donation centre at Town Hall in the CBD. You can read some of those reasons why Sydneysiders showed up to donate here:
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Rabbi remembers friend and colleague
Rabbi Eli Feldman, who was a close friend of Eli Schlanger, who was tragically killed in Sunday’s attack, has just been speaking on the ABC.
Asked about his friend, he said:
He was an angel in the guise of a human. I have known him for 25 years. We studied together in Israel before either of us was married. And [have] been close ever since. What a special human being, loved everybody, doesn’t matter who you are.
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‘What does that look like now?’ Sydney’s Jewish community members question their safety in wake of deadly shooting
When Rachel arrived at Bondi Pavilion with her baby, Zane on Tuesday morning, she laid down flowers and immediately burst into tears.
She was soon joined by her friend, Josie, who immediately embraced her. Another stranger soon joined, and held her close. Both Rachel and Josie live in Bondi, a stone’s throw from one another, and are active members of the Jewish community.
The bridge where the shooting lakes place is usually where Josie’s father walks their dogs every morning and evening. She was wrapped in an Israeli flag on Tuesday, as she was on Monday, and both were wearing Star of David necklaces.
“I didn’t even take a second guess to put it on [my flag],” Josie says.
Rachel wears her necklace every day and says between tears that for a second after the horrific events of Sunday, she found herself questioning: “Do I feel safe wearing this?”
“I think when Josie wears her flag, when I see the Israeli flag with the Australian flag, it’s a symbol that I’m not scared to be who I am, and to show that proudly even when there are people who want to kill us for who we are. It’s a feeling of strength to wear it proudly in the face of something like this.
“I’ve received so many messages from people who aren’t in the [Jewish community], that’s a comfort, because I think we’ve been feeling the tension for awhile. But what does going to Jewish events look like now? I want to feel safe doing the things I used to do, but what does that look like now?”
For Josie, “we all knew this was coming, and it’s happened now”.
“Seeing all these people here is a comfort for us ... but how many people here understand exactly what’s going on? For two years, the fear and worry that we’ve been going through.”
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Intelligence agencies aren’t ‘all-knowing’ says Burke
Tony Burke says the 24-year-old alleged shooter, Naveed Akram, is still in a coma, but couldn’t provide any more details on the man or the status of the investigation. His father – the 50-year-old alleged shooter – was shot dead by police.
The government is facing questions over why Asio, Australia’s spy agency, stopped monitoring Akram. Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, the home affairs minister says some of the criticism of the intelligence agencies “isn’t right”:
Our intelligence agencies can only work with what they have and work with what they know. They will never be all-seeing and all-knowing ... now in hindsight, people look back, and obviously Asio always reviews its processes and always looks back to make sure that things are getting stronger and stronger ...
There was none of the evidence more than half a decade ago that this person was going to turn out the way that they did.
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Sombre scenes at Bondi
The crowd of mourners at Bondi Pavilion continues to be quiet and sombre. There is a diverse array of people here, from dog walkers to babies in strollers and elderly couples in running gear.
A Jewish group is handing out free sufganiyot - a traditional Jewish doughnut popular during Hanukkah - and leading prayers. There are many tears and many hugs.
Every major news station is broadcasting from the grassy hill this morning, and has been visited by the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, and the NSW Liberal leader, Kelly Sloane. The CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Alex Rivkin, is also here.
Updated
NSW Health says 25 patients still in hospital
We have an update from NSW Health, who say there are currently twenty-five patients receiving care in several Sydney hospitals for their injuries.
Six are classified as being in a critical condition, four critical but stable. And an additional 15 have classified as stable.
More to come.
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PM says one alleged gunman was interviewed by Asio in 2019 but was not at that time a 'person of interest'
Albanese said Naveed Akram – one of two alleged gunmen – and his family and acquaintances were interviewed by Asio while under investigation in 2019, but he was “not seen at that time to be a person of interest”.
“He was drawn to their attention because of his association with others. Two of the people he was associated with were charged and went to jail,” Albanese told ABC Radio Sydney.
“Now, whether he was radicalised further after that, what the circumstances are, that’s the subject of further investigation.”
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National cabinet agrees gun licences will not be issued in perpetuity
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, says the government has already acted on a series of recommendations to combat antisemitism by the government’s special envoy, Jillian Segal, including to make doxxing illegal, and banning Nazi symbols.
Things like making doxing illegal, which we’ve done, you’ll see in the report wanting to strengthen our laws on hate crimes. We’ve now got the toughest laws at we’ve ever had in fuelling violence.
Speaking to the Today show this morning, Burke is facing questions on how the 50-year-old father was able to keep a gun license when his 24-year-old son had been monitored by spy agency Asio.
Burke says he acknowledges security checks can’t be “one and done”. Last night’s national cabinet meeting agreed gun licenses would no longer be issued in perpetuity. Burke says:
There’s a separate issue as to whether or not within family groups how how this is looked at. There is another issue which national cabinet dealt with yesterday about once a gun license is issued, how regularly it needs to be renewed. These licences should not be something where security checks are done at the start and then not revisited it.
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Australia must combat extremism while ‘learning how to disagree well’, Spender says
People are wrapping their arms around each other, Spender says, but at the same time, the broader response needs to go beyond care and sympathy.
How do we as a country do whatever we can to prevent this happening again? And that is combating antisemitism and combating extremism.
I don’t think this reflects Australia - these were Islamic extremists, and the person who did most to save people was a Muslim man. He is a better reflection of our country, but we do have extreme elements here, and that creates fear. That said, there is more prevalent antisemitism now than I’ve ever seen it. Most of it is nowhere near the extremism we saw on the weekend but it does mean the Jewish community feels very isolated.
You have to combat the extremism which I think led to the physical attack but we also have the question of how to make sure we as a country can disagree well, but we still belong.
The local member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, pays her respects
Among those paying their respects at Bondi Pavilion on Tuesday morning is the local member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender.
Spender was seen wrapping her arms around a Rabbi and hugging community members who have come down to lay flowers.
Like “so many people”, Spender was at Bondi on Sunday afternoon until about 5pm with her children in the waves. She was celebrating a family Christmas dinner in Bronte when news of the attack broke.
She tells Guardian Australia, “everybody is really struggling”.
The community is completely devastated and it’s still incredibly hard to comprehend. People coming like they are today to show their respect is really, really important ... those shows of support. Many people I know lit candles for Hanukah tonight ... those are the things that really matter.
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PM outlines potential gun reforms in wake of Bondi terror attack
Asked about gun reforms, the PM said the government was going to look at limiting the amount of guns one person can own, the type of guns people can own and only allowing citizens to be able to own guns.
He said many jurisdictions don’t use a digital system and don’t talk to each other about gun ownership:
Some state governments still have paper processes for the registration of firearms, so it’s impossible to check if you don’t have a digitised system. And so we’re accelerating that $100m and $60m program. More than $100m has been provided to states and territories, which is where guns are registered, to enable them to digitise their system.
He said the juristictons need to work together:
The system is only as strong as its weakest link, and if you have New South Wales laws tightened, but no changes were made in all of the other states… [it won’t work] … which is why I brought together the national cabinet.
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Albanese defends antisemitism record
The PM has been asked if his government has done enough to combat antisemitism:
It would appear that this was motivated by Islamic State ideology, the ideology that has been around for more than a decade, which led to this ideology of hate, and, in this case, preparedness to engage in mass murder.
We are working as hard as we can. Antisemitism, tragically, has been around for a long period of time. We have been the first government to legislate for hate symbols, for Nazi symbols, for hate speech. We have established an envoy on antisemitism. We have appointed a national ombudsman to look after those issues.
We have a program as well into schools that has been the first one that’s been established as a result of those recommendations, we have been working as hard as we can, engaging with Jewish community leaders.
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PM says Five Eyes network being brought into Bondi shooting investigation
The PM has just been speaking on ABC Sydney:
This was a meticulous, calculated, cold-blooded attack.
Now the investigations will, of course, continue. Those investigations are being led by New South Wales police, but through the joint counterterrorism team. That will involve not just the Australian Federal Police, but also our agencies Asio, who look after domestic security and ASIS, who look after our international issues, and we are certainly reaching out to Five Eyes partners, our security partners internationally as well.
Those investigations will continue, and will continue to inform Australians as those investigations proceed.
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Opposition leader continues attacks on Labor’s handling of antisemitism
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has now joined Sunrise, and says the government failed by not addressing antisemitism in the community.
She reiterates that the government should implement the recommendations from special envoy on antisemitism Jillian Segal’s report, and says that the opposition will offer bipartisan support to increase resourcing for security agencies.
Segal said yesterday that her 13 recommendations - handed to the government in July - focus on education, and cracking down on education, arts and cultural institutions that fail to address antisemitism.
Ley claims to Sunrise the government hasn’t acted on antisemitism as a priority.
This scourge of antisemitism that is talked about needs to be acted on in a way across government and given the priority that, sadly, it hasn’t had.
I hear from young women at university about what they have experienced on-campus, and I know there’s been nothing coming from this … to actually [hold] universities to account.
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Bondi on Tuesday morning
Dozens of mourners have gathered at the Bondi Pavilion on Tuesday morning to pay their respects to the victims of Sunday night’s terrorist attack.
Some wrap their arms around each other, whilst others carry flowers to lay at an ever-growing memorial. A woman still in her bathers and towel stares at the display with tears flowing down her cheeks. Many stand arms crossed in reflective silence.
The Australian and Israeli flags are hung at the pavilion’s gates.
A portion of Campbell Parade is still cut off to traffic with police tape hung by strewn electric bicycles. There is still a large police presence on the ground, as well as council vehicles sweeping the streets.
Updated
Multifaith coalition reiterates solidarity with Jewish community in joint statement
There was a meeting last night between religious leaders from the city’s largest denominations, convened by the state minister for multiculturalism.
A statement from the New South Wales (NSW) Faith Affairs Council said they “expressed their deepest sympathies for the people killed in the horrific attack” and “reiterated their solidarity with the Jewish community”.
Jewish clergy leaders addressed the meeting which included Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu faith leaders, with one senior rabbi saying communities could show support by lighting a Hanukah candle or engaging in charity.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Sunday, the council had declared:
We will not let hatred and violence divide us. Across all our cultures and faiths, will stand united in sympathy, compassion and solidarity.”
Minister Kamper said: “Australians of all faiths must work together, unambiguously, to restore faith in NSW’s multiculturalism.”
Sydney in particular is a highly multicultural city, viewed by residents as largely harmonious and peaceful – where nearly 40% of the population was born overseas and more than a third of people speak a language other than English at home.
Ley says gun law investigations ‘ongoing’
Yesterday, Ley said it was too early to talk about gun laws. Asked about it now, she said:
Following the national cabinet, we’ll take a sensible, proportionate examination of the proposals, of course we would. And Australians are rightly saying this doesn’t make sense.
But that investigation is ongoing, and we’ll let it take its course. Important though that is, we cannot take a step away from the issue that is underpinning so much of the pain here in the community. And that’s antisemitism.
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Opposition leader continues attacks on government over alleged lack of action on antisemitism
Sussan Ley is being interviewed by ABC at Bondi. She says the government needs to do more about antisemitism.
This has come against a backdrop of anger and despair and disappointment. Because, for every day, for the last two years, the lives of Jewish Australians have been made harder by the rising tide of antisemitism.
And that’s what so many spoke to me about yesterday. That they’ve heard a lot of words, they want to see action.
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Dreyfus backs stricter gun laws
Asked about gun laws, Dreyfus said there should be stricter regulations on how many guns people could have and only allowing citizens to own them.
People having six guns, possibly rapid firing, in their position, is more than anyone could want, and so for the national cabinet to meet yesterday and say right away, we think we should require citizenship to get a gun license, and we think there should be more limitations on the number of guns.
They seem like obvious reforms.
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Health minister says 26 people still hospitalised, including children
There are still 26 people in hospital who were injured in the Bondi terror attack, the NSW health minister, Ryan Park, has told Nine’s Today program.
A dozen of them were still in critical condition and “will have ongoing surgery for devastating injuries”, Park said.
A number of children were in a serious condition, Park confirmed.
He commended hospital clinicians and staff who have “no doubt saved lives”.
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Dreyfus says Australians rising to support community in wake of terror attacks
The former attorney general and special envoy for international human rights, Mark Dreyfus, just been on Radio National. He said this type of hatred will not divide Australia.
People are going to unite to reject this hatred. It’s much worse than anyone’s worst nightmares.
It’s the event that we in the Jewish community feared, the murder of 15 of our community members celebrating Hanukah ...
It’s unimaginable that it has happened, but it has happened, and Australians are rising to support community, as indeed is the government.
Updated
Last night, the Opera House was lit up with a Hanukkah menorah in memory of the victims of the Bondi beach shootings:
Updated
Mookhey said there are 320 police officers out at places of worship this morning:
[The Jewish community] want security, they want safety, they want support, and they want assistance.
That is why we’ve stepped up the operation, and why this morning there are 320 police officers at places of worship.
One thing the government is very clear about is that we are very, very proud of our Jewish community. But we are not going to allow Jewish life to be eradicated in this city.
Formal public memorial service to be held, NSW treasurer says
The NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, has just been speaking to ABC News at Bondi. He said there will be a more formalised memorial in the coming days:
We are in conversations with the Jewish community about the right way in which to commemorate the horrible events of the weekend.
Of course, there are lots of families that are having to organise funerals as well, and we’re providing what assistance we can. There’s no doubt the public does want to express the way it feels. There will be a public memorial.
We also want to commemorate the first responders, and acknowledge the strong role played by ordinary citizens who engaged in extraordinary acts of bravery.
Updated
Here are more images from the vigils and events last night.
Donations for Bondi hero pass $1.3m
Donations have poured in for Ahmed al Ahmed, the Muslim father-of-two, who tackled one of the gunmen from behind to disarm him. A GoFundMe page has currently raised more than $A1.3m (£645,000; $864,000) in less than 24 hours.
The Sydney fruit and vegetable seller is currently recovering in hospital after surgery from bullet wounds – he was shot twice by the second gunman after interrupting the first’s attack.
Ahmed was visited by the state premier earlier today who praised his extraordinary courage. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has also described Ahmed “running towards danger, putting his own life at risk” as “the best of humanity”.
Ahmed’s father told Australia’s ABC his son had “served in the police, he has the passion to defend people.“
“When he saw people lying on the ground and the blood, quickly his conscience pushed him to attack one of the terrorists and take away his weapon,” Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed said.
Updated
Mourning and grief at vigils across Sydney
In Sydney’s east, hundreds of people attended a prayer vigil at the Chabad Bondi synagogue, the place of worship for many of those caught up in Sunday’s attack.
Harry Guth said he was attending to show solidarity with those killed and injured in the attack.
“I must admit it wasn’t a surprise,” Mr Guth said.
“Obviously I’m shocked but something was waiting to happen if you get burnt cars, burnt shuls (synagogues), burnt restaurants, graffiti on walls.”
Members of the Jewish community also met on Monday night to celebrate the second night of Hanukkah at St Kilda beach and Caulfield Shule in the city’s southeast.
Rabbi Effy Block from the Chabad St Kilda said his congregation were reeling from “broken hearts, deep shock, and profound pain”.
“Yes, our hearts are heavy. Yes, we are grieving ... but we will not be broken,” he said.
“We will not be silenced and we will not give in to fear.”
Updated
'Lightness will always persevere': Hanukah events and vigils held across the nation
Hanukah events and vigils were held in unison across Australia on Monday night as thousands of mourners laid flowers and left messages to remember the 15 people killed in the massacre at a Jewish festival, Australian Associated Press writes.
In an emotional ceremony at Bondi beach, Rabbi Yossi Shuchat lit the candles of a five-foot-high menorah, telling those gathered: “Lightness will always persevere, darkness cannot continue where there is light.”
The Pillars of Light festival also went ahead at Melbourne’s Federation Square where attendees gathered to sing, pray and watch Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann light the menorah.
Addressing the crowd, Kaltmann thanked everyone “for showing up and being here in solidarity”.
“We gather not in fear, but in strength,” he said.
“We will light up our hearts and shine away this darkness by lighting the menorah.”
Updated
What we know so far on the Bondi shooting
Before we get under way here is a summary of where we stand on the main developments in this still-unfolding tory:
Australians and people around the world are mourning the 15 victims of Sunday’s terrorist attack on Jewish Australians at the start of Hanakuh.
A 10-year-old girl, a local rabbi and a Holocaust survivor have been identified among those killed
There are still 27 people injured in hospitals, including the man who tackled a shooter to disarm him, Ahmed al-Ahmed, who has received over A$1m in donations while recovering in hospital from bullet wounds and has been labelled a national hero
The alleged perpetrators of the attack have been identified as a father-and-son pair who were motivated by an “extreme perversion of Islam”, according to Anthony Albanese.
Lawmakers have pledged to tighten the country’s already significant gun-ownership laws after the mass shooting was carried out with registered firearms. “People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity,” said Albanese
Amid calls from community leaders to not let the attack on Sunday divide the multicultural country, some Jewish leaders say the attack was foreseen and authorities failed to combat the rise in hate
Australia enacted an antisemitism strategy earlier this year in response to protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, but critics say that has failed, including Israel’s PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he’d warned Albanese that Australia’s support for Palestinian statehood would fuel anti-Semitism
Albanese has denied the antisemitism strategy has failed and vowed on Monday to “do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you the main developments in the aftermath of the Bondi attack before the morning blogger takes over.
Police said overnight that they expected to charge the surviving Bondi attack suspect, Naveed Akram, as the prime minister dismissed reports that the alleged gunmen had been linked to an Isis terror cell in Australia. He told 7.30 there was “no evidence” for the claims. More coming up.
Donations have poured in for Ahmed al-Ahmed, the Muslim father-of-two who tackled one of the gunmen from behind to disarm him. A GoFundMe page has currently raised more than $A1.3m (£645,000; $864,000) in less than 24 hours. More coming up after his parents described why they thought their son had intervened.
Religious leaders from Sydney’s largest denominations gathered last night at a meeting convened by the state minister for multiculturalism. A statement from the New South Wales (NSW) Faith Affairs Council said they “expressed their deepest sympathies for the people killed in the horrific attack” and “re-iterated their solidarity with the Jewish community”. The Sydney Opera House was lit up by the Hanukah menorah and there were vigils around the nation.
