Sixteen people are now dead after gunmen opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, with 40 others still in hospital.
Australian authorities have declared the incident a 'targeted terrorist attack', as the nation grapples with its deadliest mass shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
The Attack on 'Chanukah by the Sea'
The shooting erupted around 6:45 p.m. as hundreds of families gathered for 'Chanukah by the Sea', an event organised by Chabad of Bondi to mark the first day of the Jewish festival. Two gunmen with rifles started firing from a footbridge near Campbell Parade, sending panicked crowds scrambling for cover across the iconic beach.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the violence in the strongest terms. 'This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith—an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation'.
Among the dead are a 12-year-old girl, Rabbi Eli Schlanger—who'd been with the Bondi community for 18 years—and Alex Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor. A young French engineer, Dan Elkayam, 27, who had moved to Australia about a year ago, was also killed.
Civilian Tackles Gunman in Extraordinary Footage
Amidst the chaos, video footage emerged of a bystander confronting one of the shooters. Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit vendor, crouched behind a parked car before charging at one of the gunmen from behind. The video shows him wrestling the rifle away after a brief struggle, then pointing it back at the attacker before carefully putting it down by a tree. A second shooter on the bridge kept firing the whole time.
'The most unbelievable scene I've ever seen', said New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. 'A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people. That man is a genuine hero, and I've got no doubt there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery'.
Ahmed's cousin, Mustafa, told a news outlet that Ahmed was hit twice and ended up in hospital. 'He's a hero. One hundred percent he's a hero'. Albanese praised everyone who'd 'run towards danger in order to help others', saying their bravery saved lives.
Official Response and Investigation
Police shot one gunman dead at the scene. The other is in critical condition under custody. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said they are looking into whether a third shooter was involved, though he is being careful not to jump to conclusions. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) knew about one of the attackers already, 'but not in an immediate threat perspective'.
Police found what looked like an improvised explosive device in a car linked to one of the shooters and disposed of it. Two police officers were injured in the attack as well.
A Climate of Rising Antisemitism
Jewish leaders have been warning about rising antisemitism for ages. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry counted 1,654 anti-Jewish incidents between October 2024 and September 2025—almost five times what they used to see before 7 October 2023.
Robert Gregory from the Australian Jewish Association said the attack 'deeply pains us as a community'. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated he warned Albanese three months back that Australia's policies were 'pouring oil on the fire of antisemitism'. He was referring to Canberra stating that it would recognise Palestinian statehood.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Jewish people who'd just gone to light the first Hanukkah candle 'had been attacked by vile terrorists'. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar blamed 'the antisemitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years' for creating the conditions.
International Condemnation
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said 'antisemitism has no place in this world'. French President Emmanuel Macron called it 'an antisemitic terrorist attack'. UK PM Keir Starmer and New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon both condemned it too.
Bondi beach death toll reaches 16, including a child 😞
— Adam Brooks AKA EssexPR 🇬🇧 (@EssexPR) December 14, 2025
Monsters. pic.twitter.com/WS2kfEMsq6
How Did This Happen in Australia?
The massacre has shattered Australia's reputation as a country that successfully eradicated mass shootings. After the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, the government brought in incredibly tough gun laws that made it seriously difficult to get firearms.
Sunday's attack is now the second-deadliest mass shooting in Australian history, which has left everyone asking how the attackers got hold of weapons when the country's regulations are meant to prevent exactly this sort of thing. The investigation will now focus on whether the firearms were legally registered, stolen, or acquired through the black market, a line of inquiry that will have profound implications for the future of Australian gun control.
