It’s 6.47pm locally when Sydney’s Bondi Beach goes from a dream destination to a nightmare. Where otherwise beachgoers tan in the sun and surfers throw themselves into the waves, shots whip through the air. Videos that appeared on social media a short time later showed two people dressed entirely in black apparently firing rifles from a bridge in the distance at the terrain below.
The sounds of gunfire ring out as the gunmen move from the bridge towards the beach below. According to eyewitnesses, the attack lasted around ten minutes. What began as a warm summer evening ends in moments of panic for beachgoers.
The results are shocking: at least 16 people are killed, including one of the shooters. There was previously talk of twelve deaths. 40 people remain in hospital, New South Wales Police said on Platform X. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed in a press conference later that evening that it was a “devastating terrorist attack” that specifically targeted the Jewish community.
First information about the perpetrators known
“It is an act of vicious anti-Semitism, of terrorism, that has struck at the heart of our nation,” Albanese said. He also speaks of an attack on the Australian “lifestyle”.
Investigators have now identified the two attackers as father and son. The 50-year-old father had six weapons registered to him. The police announced this at a press conference on Monday (local time). The motive remained unclear; according to police, there was no evidence of such a violent act. The surviving shooter, the 24-year-old son, is seriously injured and in police custody.
It is being checked whether there is a third suspect. Police found improvised explosive devices in a car associated with the slain attacker. Hours after the shooting, she stormed a house in the Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg and took two people away, according to The New York Times.
The fire targeted a group of families who had gathered on the beach for a Hanukkah celebration. According to Albanese, it was an event called “Hanukkah by the Sea.”
It was the beginning of the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights. An eyewitness then spoke to the Australian broadcaster ABC of “shocking scenes”. People had been “mowed down” and were lying in large pools of blood.
The Jewish community in Australia reacted with horror to the attack on their relatives. “Shooting at a Hanukkah event,” the Australian Jewish Association wrote on Platform X. “We have warned so many times that this would happen.”
The Jewish organization is referring to a series of incidents with an anti-Semitic background that have shaken Australia since the attacks on October 7, 2023. These include anti-Semitic slogans that were daubed on cars and house walls. Jews were harassed and attacked on the street, and there were even arson attacks on synagogues. The Australian authorities linked two attacks on a synagogue and a kosher restaurant to the Iranian secret service.
“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on all Australians,” Albanese told the press. In the past he had faced accusations of not doing enough to combat increasing anti-Semitism in the country. Two years ago, more than a hundred Holocaust survivors who had emigrated to Australia complained about “an unprecedented tide of anti-Semitism” raging on television, social media and in Australia’s universities.
Israel’s foreign minister criticizes Australian government
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was “horrified by the murderous gun attack” on X. “These are the consequences of the anti-Semitic riots on the streets of Australia over the past two years,” said the minister. “The Australian government, which has received countless warning signals, must finally come to its senses!”
Israel has long accused Canberra of not adequately punishing incidents against Jews and thus encouraging a climate of anti-Semitism. In addition, Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state a few weeks ago caused tensions.
Many Australians are shocked by the attack in one of the country’s most popular places in a suburb of the metropolis of Sydney. According to reports, numerous people had fled the beach, to the north of which the shooting had started near a parking lot. An ABC journalist reported “very emotional scenes.” People hugged each other and cried. Some very disturbing recordings also reached the public via social media.
One particularly widely shared video showed a man in a white T-shirt approaching a gunman dressed in black from behind as he continued to fire shots in the opposite direction. The man put the shooter in a headlock and grabbed the rifle with his other hand. After a short struggle, the man managed to take the rifle. He then threatened the shooter and kept him at bay with his own weapon. The man was later hailed as a “hero” by many.
A tourist told the Australian broadcaster ABC that he had only arrived in Australia two days ago. He wanted to visit the famous Bondi Beach with a friend because they expected strong security measures there. About an hour later he saw two men dressed in black shooting in his direction with “sniper rifles”. When he saw that one of the shooters had targeted him, he ducked.
Another man told News Nine that he had managed to get to safety in time. “The beach was completely overcrowded. And then a lot of fireworks were set off. And suddenly we saw thousands of people running in our direction,” said the man. He and his companions then hid in the public toilets.
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper spoke to a foreign student who held the hand of an injured victim while he waited for first aid. “It was the first time I saw a person being killed with my own eyes,” said the man, who has lived in Australia for two years.
Although police announced shortly after the attack that two shooters had been “neutralized,” they remained on alert. Among other things, she investigated speculation that there could have been a third shooter. It also examined the possibility that several explosive devices could have been planted on the bridge and the surrounding area.
Footage from the beach showed several ambulances. Eyewitnesses reported that paramedics and bystanders gave her medical attention on the grass near the beach. According to journalists, Bondi Beach was deserted after the attack. Instead of bathing and surfing guests, there were numerous personal items that panicked beach visitors had left behind.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the attack as an “attack on our common values.” He also wrote on Platform
