Australia is grappling with its deadliest terrorism and anti-Semitism attack.
Sixteen people are now dead in the attack, where two gunmen opened fire at the so-called Chanukah by the Sea celebration, an annual event held to celebrate Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, the New South Wales state capital.
The area is home to a large Jewish community.
The investigation is now ongoing under the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team, and involves members of the state police, the Australian Federal Police, the NSW Crime Commission and ASIO, Australia’s domestic intelligence service.
By December 15, sixteen people were confirmed dead and 40 were injured.
Two shooters were involved in the incident. A 50-year-old man has been shot dead by New South Wales Police. The second, a 24-year-old man, suffered serious injuries and is in hospital under police protection. According to officials, both the suspects were father and son.
Australia has one of the largest Jewish diasporas in the world
In Australia’s most recent census over 116,000 people indicated they belonged to the Jewish religion. it is Eighth largest population of Jews in the world,
The largest Jewish communities are found in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s two most populous cities.
Sydney’s eastern suburbs are home to a particularly large Jewish community. About 1 in 8 residents of Bondi Beach, where Sunday’s attack occurred, is Jewish.
It saw the largest increase in anti-Semitic attacks in 2025
There have been nearly two dozen major cases of vandalism, anti-Semitic graffiti, arson attacks and attacks on Jewish people, property and synagogues since May 2024.
Major incidents include attacks on Jewish schools, child care centres, vehicle arson attacks and the bombing of buildings in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
There have been several attacks on synagogues in Sydney and Melbourne.
A bomb plot in January 2025 was found to be an attempt by organized crime to conceal an anti-Semitic attack and divert police resources.
Australia recently began reforming laws to address anti-Semitic rhetoric.
In February 2025, the federal parliament passed an anti-hate law prohibiting threatening force and violence based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. The law carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 12 months if found guilty. The use of hate symbols such as the Swastika was also banned.
In August, Iranian diplomats were expelled after domestic intelligence services said Iran had coordinated attacks on a Melbourne synagogue and a kosher delicatessen in Sydney.
A report from Tel Aviv University found that Australia is projected to see an increase in incidence between 2023 and 2024.
Special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal, who was appointed to the post by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this year, said anti-Semitic attacks have tripled since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began.
Victims include children, genocide survivors among community mourners
The Jewish community in Australia expressed grief over the attacks.
The dead included a 10-year-old girl, a Ukrainian civilian who survived the massacre, and two local rabbis. France and Israel have confirmed civilians among the victims.
Jewish representative bodies have expressed their grief and sympathy following the attacks.
“We now need the decisive leadership and action the Jewish community has long advocated for to eliminate the scourge of anti-Semitism from Australian public life. The first duty of government is to keep its citizens safe,” the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said in a statement.
Sarah Schwartz, executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, said, “It is shattering to experience this horrific act of anti-Semitic violence during the Jewish festival of lights and hope. In moments like these, we hold each other close.”
Local charity, Jewish Communal Appeal, said, “Her thoughts and prayers are with everyone at this time, especially those who have lost family members, friends and loved ones in this devastating attack. We stand in solidarity with all those who are saddened, traumatized or struggling with the events that occurred at Bondi Beach.”
“This is a terrible day not only for the Jewish community, for Bondi and Sydney, but for all of Australia and for the values we hold dear, which have for so long been the foundation of our inclusive, harmonious society,” said Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Council of Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs.
Albanese said existing funding for physical security measures for Jewish community groups would be increased following the attack. About $25 million (€14.1 million, $US16.6 million) was previously promised for community safety. He has also advocated for radical changes to already restrictive national and state gun laws.
Other countries, such as France, have indicated that security will also be increased to protect their local Jewish communities. Other cities including London, Berlin, Warsaw and New York have confirmed increased security for Hanukkah-related events.
Who were the gunmen?
The father-son duo, aged 50 and 24, were named in the local press as Sajid and Navid Akram.
At a press conference in Sydney on Monday, Albanese and his Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed that the father had moved to Australia, originally on a student visa in 1998, then on a partner (spouse) visa, and most recently on a resident return visa. Burke did not give details of the father’s nationality.
Albanese said the son, who was born in Australia, was investigated by authorities in 2019. Australia’s public broadcaster ABC said it was linked to links to the Islamic State terrorist cell. Two flags belonging to IS were reportedly found in the suspect’s car.
Gun crime is rare in Australia
Albanese has also advocated for more stringent gun ownership regulations in Australia.
Australia is known to have one of the strictest gun ownership laws. They were changed in 1996 after the country’s worst mass shooting, when 25-year-old Martin Bryant opened fire in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur, killing 35 people and wounding 23 others.
The massacre prompted the centre-right government of then Prime Minister John Howard to establish a national firearms accord that aligned federal and state laws. This included mandatory licensing, background checks, and regulations on firearm storage and use.
saw this Voluntary surrender of over 650,000 firearmsand approximately $304 million (approximately $237 million US) in compensation.
Crime statistics show 33 people died from gunshot wounds in Australia between July 2023 and June 2024. There are approximately four million firearms legally owned in the country.
Albanese, of the centre-left Labor Party, has said sweeping changes to gun laws could include ending open-ended licenses, limits on the number of weapons a person can possess, classifying the types of legal firearms and restricting permits to Australian citizens.
The National Firearms Register has already been delayed. Maya Arguello, a criminology and law expert at Swinburne University of Technology, said policing on gun ownership in Australia would be aided by a comprehensive system.
“Without a national register to support real-time information-sharing, police and other agencies remain reliant on disparate state and territory systems, resulting in gaps in life-cycle monitoring, tracing and national oversight of registered firearms,” Arguello said.
“Although development has begun, the system is not expected to be operational until 2028.”
Edited by: Andreas Illmer