At least 12 people, including one of the attackers, were killed in a mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, Australian officials said. At least 29 others were hospitalized.
Emergency services were called to the popular beach around 6:45 p.m. local time following reports of gunfire, according to New South Wales (NSW) police. Hundreds of people had gathered for “Chanukah by the Sea,” an event marking the start of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
Police said one gunman was killed at the scene, while a second suspect remains in critical condition. Two police officers were also injured in the attack.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the shooting as a “targeted attack against Jewish Australians” and labeled it a terrorist incident.
“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian,” Albanese said in a statement posted on social media. “There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. We will eradicate it.”
Chabad, the Orthodox Jewish organization that organized the event, confirmed that one of the victims was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the celebration.
Video footage recorded by witnesses appeared to show two gunmen carrying long firearms firing from a footbridge leading to the beach. One widely broadcast clip showed an unarmed civilian tackling and disarming one of the attackers, risking his life to stop the assault.
Authorities said the attack targeted a Jewish community event. Mass shootings are rare in Australia, largely due to strict gun control laws enacted after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, when 35 people were killed. Sunday’s attack was the country’s first deadly mass shooting since 2022.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the attack on what he described as Australia’s failure to confront rising antisemitism, accusing Albanese’s government of inaction during the Gaza war. Speaking at a government meeting, Netanyahu said Australia’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state had fueled “Jew hatred.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he spoke with Australia’s foreign minister to express Israel’s “pain and sorrow,” citing a surge in antisemitism since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the shooting as a “heinous deadly attack on Jewish families,” while Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged Australia to take stronger action against what he called an “enormous wave of antisemitism.”
Australia has experienced multiple antisemitic incidents in recent years, including arson attacks. In August, Albanese accused Iran of involvement in two such incidents and severed diplomatic ties with Tehran.