Australia: 16 Killed in Terrorist Attack on Jews

Two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi beach, killing 15 people, including a child, officials said Monday, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation. The shooters were father and son, authorities said.

The massacre at one of Australia’s most popular beaches followed a wave of antisemitic attacks that have roiled the country over the past year, although the authorities didn’t suggest those and the shooting Sunday were connected. It was the deadliest shooting in almost three decades in a country with strict gun control laws.

One gunman, a 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was fatally shot by police. The other shooter, his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, was wounded and was being treated at a hospital, said Mal Lanyon, New South Wales police commissioner.

The 24-year-old alleged assailant was identified as Naveed Akram, a Pakistani national, according to U.S. intelligence officials briefed on the investigation.

Police said one gunman was known to security services, but Lanyon said authorities had no indication of a planned attack.

Those killed were aged between 10- and 87-years-old, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters. At least 42 others were being treated at hospitals on Monday morning, several of them in a critical condition.

The shooting targeted a Jewish celebration

The violence erupted at the end of a summer day when thousands had flocked to Bondi Beach, an icon of Australia’s cultural life. They included hundreds gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event celebrating the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival.

The festivities included face painting and a petting zoo. Then mayhem erupted.

Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement that runs outreach worldwide and sponsors events during major Jewish holidays, identified one of the dead as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and an organizer of the event.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of an Israeli citizen, but gave no further details. French President Emmanuel Macron announced a French citizen, identified as Dan Elkayam, was among those killed.

But stories of the victims began to emerge in local news outlets on Monday. Larisa Kleytman told reporters outside St Vincent’s Hospital that her husband, Alexander Kleytman was among the dead, according to The Australian newspaper.

The couple were both Holocaust survivors.

Police said emergency services were called at about 6:45 p.m., responding to reports of shots being fired. Video by onlookers showed people in bathing suits running from the water as shots rang out.

Separate footage showed two men in black shirts firing with long guns from a footbridge leading to the beach. One dramatic clip broadcast on Australian television showed a man appearing to tackle and disarm one gunman, before pointing the man’s weapon at him, then setting the gun on the ground.

Minns called the man, identified by relatives to Australian media as fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, a “genuine hero.”

'Hero' bystander tackles terrorist

A man who heroically tackled and disarmed one of the Bondi Beach gunmen has been named.

News.com.au can confirm the hero has been named as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, a Sydney local who owns a fruit shop in Sutherland.

The father-of-two was shot twice during the unbelievable act, according to his cousin who spoke to 7News.

“He’s in hospital and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside,” the man named Mustafa told the outlet.

“We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero 100 per cent.”

Ahmed was due to undergo surgery tonight. He reportedly did not have any experience with guns but was simply walking past and decided to step in.

Footage showed the Ahmed, wearing a white shirt, crouching behind a car in the carpark metres away from one of the shooters.

In between shots, the hero bystander rushed through cars and grabbed the gunman in a headlock from behind.

After a wild struggle lasting about five seconds, Ahmed was able to seize the shotgun and the shooter falls backwards.

Witnesses fled and hid as shots rang out

Arsen Ostrovsky, a lawyer attending the Hanukkah ceremony with his wife and daughters, was grazed in the head by a bullet. Ostrovsky said he moved from Israel to Australia two weeks ago to work for a Jewish advocacy group.

“What I saw today was pure evil, just an absolute bloodbath. Bodies strewn everywhere,” he told The Associated Press in an email from the hospital. “I never thought would be possible here in Australia.”

Lachlan Moran, 32, from Melbourne, told the AP he was waiting for his family when he heard shots.

“I sprinted as quickly as I could,” Moran said. He said he heard shooting off and on for about five minutes. “Everyone just dropped all their possessions and everything and were running and people were crying and it was just horrible.”

Antisemitic attacks have roiled Australia

Albanese vowed the violence would be met with “a moment of national unity where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish faith.” Some of his political opponents and Israel’s government accused him of not having done enough to prevent such a horror.

Australia, a country of 28 million people, is home to about 117,000 Jews, according to official figures. Antisemitic incidents, including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation, surged more than threefold in the country during the year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel launched a war on Hamas in Gaza in response, the government’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal reported in July.

Last year, the country was rocked by antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Synagogues and cars were torched, businesses and homes graffitied and Jews attacked in those cities, where 85% of the nation’s Jewish population lives.

Albanese in August blamed Iran for two of the attacks and cut diplomatic ties to Tehran.

Israel urged Australia’s government to address crimes targeting Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he warned Australia’s leaders months ago about the dangers of failing to take action against antisemitism. He claimed Australia’s decision — in line with scores of other countries — to recognize a Palestinian state “pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.”

“Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia ... and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today,” Netanyahu said.