Sydney attack live: Bondi Beach shooting kills 16, gunmen identified

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

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

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

Israeli criticism of Australia plays to ‘domestic audience’

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

Five people remain in ‘critical condition’, police say

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hanukkah security ramped up around the world after Bondi shootings

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

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

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

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

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

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

Death toll rises to 16 in Sydney shooting

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

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

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

Macron mourns Frenchman killed in Sydney attack

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

French national killed in Bondi Beach shooting

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

Jean-Noël Barrot named the victim as Dan Elkayam.

Trump condemns deadly Sydney shooting as ‘purely antisemitic attack’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Australia hails ‘hero’ who stopped gunman in his tracks

Australians are hailing a “hero” whose daring struggle with a gunman may have saved many lives during the country’s worst mass shooting in years.

Following the shooting on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, footage emerged on social media of a man grabbing one of the gunmen as he fired on civilians.

The man then wrestles the gun out of the attacker’s hand, before pointing the weapon at the assailant who backs away.

Local outlet 7News identified him as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, a fruit seller, and reported he had suffered two gunshot wounds.

Shooting marks ‘escalation’ in attacks against Australia’s Jewish community

Sunday’s shooting attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach has brought to reality a fear that many Australian Jews say they have been living with: that they are no longer safe in the country that was supposed to protect them.

“This is the worst fears of the Jewish community,” Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told Sky News. “It’s been bubbling under the surface for a long time, and now it’s actually happened.”

Australia’s Jewish diaspora is small but deeply embedded in the wider community, with about 150,000 people who identify as Jewish in the country of 27 million.

About one-third of them are estimated to live in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, including Bondi.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling the Hanukkah shootings a devastating terrorist attack targeting Jewish people, said his government would “dedicate every resource to making sure you are safe and protected”.

King Charles III ‘appalled’ by ‘most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack’

King Charles III has said he is “appalled and saddened” by the “most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack on Jewish people” following the deadly Bondi Beach shooting.

Charles, who as head of the Commonwealth is also Australia’s head of state, paid tribute to the police and emergency services “and members of the public whose heroic actions no doubt prevented even greater horror and tragedy”.

“I know that the spirit of community and love that shines so brightly in Australia — and the light at the heart of the Chanukah Festival will always triumph over the darkness of such evil,” he added in a statement on X.

Israeli citizen among dead in Bondi Beach shooting, says Israeli foreign ministry

One Israeli citizen was among those killed after gunmen fired on a Jewish holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, the Israeli foreign ministry said.

Iran condemns deadly attack on Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach

The Iranian foreign ministry on Sunday denounced a “violent attack” in Sydney that targeted a Jewish celebration and killed 11 people.

“We condemn the violent attack in Sydney, Australia. Terror and killing of human beings, wherever committed, is rejected and condemned,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on X.

Australia expelled the Iranian ambassador earlier this year, accusing Tehran of orchestrating anti-Semitic attacks in Melbourne and Sydney.

Israeli FM urges Australia to ‘takes strong action’ against ‘anti-Semitic’ slogans

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged Australia to act against a “surge” of antisemitism during a phone call with his counterpart after a shooting Sunday in Sydney that targeted a Hanukkah celebration, killing 11 people.

“Just spoke with Australian FM (Penny Wong), at her initiative,” Saar said in a post on X. “I said that since Oct 7 there has been a surge in antisemitism in Australia, including violent incitement against Israel and Jews.”

“The Australian government must take strong action against the use of these antisemitic calls,” he added, referring to slogans sometimes heard at pro-Palestinian protests, such as “Globalise the Intifada”, “From the River to the Sea Palestine Will be Free”, and “Death to the IDF (Israeli army)”

Rabbi killed at Jewish holiday gathering on Bondi Beach

Hundreds had gathered Sunday to celebrate a Jewish holiday at Bondi Beach where a mass shooting was carried out earlier. The event was to mark the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival. One of the victims of the shooting was identified as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the event, by the Orthodox Jewish movement Chabad.

Bondi Beach shooting: Explosive device found in vehicle linked to shooters

Australian police have found an explosive device in a vehicle linked to one of the shooters, FRANCE 24’s Richelle Harrison reports from Sydney.

Harrison added that one of the suspects has been identified as Naveed Akram, who hails from southwest Sydney.