What we know
• Shooting on Australia’s Bondi Beach: The death toll in the attack in Sydney has risen to 15, while 40 people remain in the hospital, police say. A suspected gunman was also killed.
• Jewish community targeted: The attack, declared a terrorist incident, targeted Jewish Australians as hundreds gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. One of the victims was a Holocaust survivor who died while shielding his wife from bullets.
• Suspects are father and son: Police killed the 50-year-old father at the scene while the 24-year-old son is in critical but stable condition, authorities said. Officers also removed explosive devices found in a nearby vehicle.
• Reaction: Australian leader Anthony Albanese called the shooting “an act of pure evil.” Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said he believed Australia’s government poured oil on the flames of antisemitism through its silence on anti-Jewish sentiment in the country. Several Muslim nations have condemned the attack.
Need to deal with “anti-semitism at its source,” Australian Jewish Association CEO says
The CEO of the Australian Jewish Association said that anti-semitism has been “surging” in Australia and there was a need to “deal with some of this incitement, this anti-semitism at its source.”
“The Jewish community already lives under extreme security measures in Australia,” Robert Gregory told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “For many years now, we’ve had armed guards at our kindergartens and preschools, and I don’t know of any other children that live this way. So this is not a way to live.”
He added the “burden of securing the community is immense,” and the need to have law enforcement surrounding the Jewish community’s events was having a “chilling impact.”
“We can expect that that these attacks will continue to happen unless we deal with some of the root causes of why they’re happening,” Gregory said.
National Menorah lighting celebrants in Washington, DC react with sadness and resignation
Attendees of the National Menorah Lighting in Washington, DC, Sunday reacted with both sadness and resignation to the attack on Bondi Beach in Australia.
Allison Groff who was attending the ceremony with her husband Matt Lowy, said she learned of the attack from a message from her brother who happened to be in another part of Sydney saying, “we’re okay.”
Groff said she had reservations about attending the menorah lighting, but Lowy said they came with their children, “because you can’t just hide inside” and said there was a need “to show strength, unity, community.”
“Being Jewish, you feel vulnerable,” Groff said, saying that while they are American and not Israeli, ” sometimes the distinction might be lost, and then people feel angry and target our community.”
Groff said, nonetheless, they excited for Hanukkah and was planning for latkes and dreidel that night.
"They wanted to kill as many Jewish people as possible," Australian Jewish leader says
“People came to kill Jewish children and women and the elderly, and they knew that here they would have in a relatively small area, hundreds and hundreds of people like fish in a barrel,” Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin tells Reuters.
At least 15 people were killed in a shooting that targeted Australia’s Jewish community at Bondi Beach on Hanukkah.
“And that’s what they wanted. They wanted to kill as many Jewish people as possible simply because they were Jewish for the crime of being Jewish,” Ryvhin added.
Muslim nations condemn Bondi Beach attack against Jewish community on first day of Hanukkah
Several Muslim countries have condemned the deadly shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach that targeted the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah.
Saudi Arabia has affirmed “its stance against all forms of violence, terrorism, and extremism,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The ministry also expressed “its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Australia, and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.”
Iran also condemned “the violent attack against civilians in Sydney, Australia,” Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a post on X on Sunday.
“Terror violence and mass killing shall be condemned, wherever they’re committed, as unlawful and criminal,” he added.
Turkey denounced the attack and extended its condolences to the affected families, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The United Arab Emirates expressed “its sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, and to the government and people of Australia,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and to the Australian people, and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
"We must always celebrate being Jews," US commerce secretary says at National Menorah lighting
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mourned the slew of tragedies that occurred over the weekend, including the Bondi Beach shooting, while speaking at the National Menorah lighting in Washington, DC, declaring, “We light the light of Hanukkah to bring light to much of this dark darkness.”
Lutnick, who is Jewish, pointed toward the attack in Sydney that targeted the country’s Jewish community; the mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island; and the three Americans killed during an ambush in Syria, noting that the lighting arrived at particularly tough moment.
“It is a difficult and tough day for what we’ve lost, but we must always celebrate being Jews. Thank you for being here. Thank you from the entire administration,” he said.
Australian Muslim organization says attack on Jewish community is an attack "on all of us"
Australian National Imams Council, a major Australian Muslim organization, has expressed its “solidarity with the Australian Jewish community, the victims, and their families, and with all those affected,” in a statement on Monday.
“Violence and terrorism have no place in our society, and targeting innocent people undermines the safety, dignity, and cohesion of our nation,” it added.
The group said all Muslim community “unequivocally condemn all attacks on civilians. Antisemitism, expressed through hate, harassment, and violence directed at the Jewish community, has no place in our society.”
The council urged the Muslim community and representatives “to reach out to their Jewish neighbors, friends, and colleagues to offer support and comfort during this difficult time.”
Holocaust survivor among those killed in Bondi Beach attack, Jewish organization says
The victims of the deadly attack on a Jewish community gathering in Australia’s Bondi Beach included a Holocaust survivor, according to the Jewish organization Chabad.
Chabad had organized the “Chanukah by the Sea” event that was targeted by the attackers on Sunday evening.
Alex Kleytman, a Ukrainian native who had survived the Holocaust, died while shielding his wife, Larisa, from the gunman’s bullets, Chabad said in a statement.
Kleytman leaves behind two children and 11 grandchildren, in addition to his wife.
Reuven Morrison, originally from the USSR, was Chabad community member who was named as one of the deceased victims. Morrison “discovered his Jewish identity” in Sydney before settling in Melbourne, where he was a “longtime resident,” Chabad said.
A young French citizen named Dan Elkayam was killed in the attack, Chabad and French President Emmanuel Macron reported.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, who organized the event and serves as assistant rabbi in Chabad of Bondi, and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, secretary of the Sydney Beth Din, were also killed, according to Chabad.
ADL chief calls Sydney attack on Jewish community "shocking but not surprising," warns of rising antisemitism
The CEO of Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a New York City-based international NGO aimed at combating anti-Semitism, said the deadly shooting that targeted Sydney’s Jewish community on Australia’s Bondi Beach “is a sad and shocking event, but unfortunately, not altogether surprising.”
Speaking to CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday, Jonathan Greenblatt said the Australian Jewish community is reeling after years of rising threats and violence.
Antisemitic “harassment, vandalism and violence, have all increased dramatically in Australia since October the seventh. It’s up nearly 500%,” Greenblatt said
Greenblatt said Jewish communities across the world — including in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany and Argentina — have been forced to adopt heightened security measures, such as armed guards and reinforced buildings. Still, he warned that physical protections alone are not enough.
“You can never build walls that are high enough,” he said, calling on political leaders to speak out forcefully against incitement and urging other communities to stand in solidarity with Jewish people.
As Hanukkah begins, Greenblatt emphasized resilience over fear, saying “the best response is be more Jewish, celebrate, dance, worship openly and comply as Jewish people.”
Greenblatt also encouraged non-Jewish allies to show visible support by attending synagogue services or public menorah lightings. “Go to a local synagogue, go to a public menorah lighting, and stand with your Jewish neighbours and friends, your Jewish brothers and sisters, because this hate that’s coming for the Jewish people, it comes for everyone,” Greenblatt told CNN.
Here's the latest information that authorities shared about the shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach
Authorities just shared essential new information about the attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, and its aftermath.
Here’s everything you need to know, according to Australian officials:
• Victims: At least 15 people were killed in the shooting while at least 40 people remain hospitalized. The victims are aged between 10 and 87, according to Chris Minns, premier of New South Wales (NSW).
• Suspect: The perpetrators were a 50-year-old father, who was shot and killed by police on scene, and his 24-year-old son, who is in critical but stable condition at a hospital. Police concluded there are no further offenders involved in the attack, according to NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon. Police is still working to understand the reasons behind the attack.
• Weapons: The father was a licensed firearms holders, with six firearms licensed to him. He had a gun license for approximately 10 years. Authorities have recovered six firearms from the shooting site and through a search warrant. Forensic work is underway to determine if the six firearms recovered are the same that are licensed to the deceased suspect. Investigators are now working with Australia’s Commonwealth partners.
• Reaction: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denounced the shooting as “an act of pure evil.” Bondi Beach, which is associated with joy, family gatherings and celebration “is forever tarnished” by the attack, he said during a news conference on Monday morning local time. He declared that flags across the country will fly half-staff.
• Concern for the Jewish community: All officials voiced solidarity with the Jewish community and asserted that antisemitism will not be tolerated. There will be increased police presence in areas with large Jewish populations, at places of worship and any other places frequented by the Jewish community. Authorities urged the community to contact the Red Cross and donate blood.
French citizen among those killed in attack at Bondi Beach, Macron says
A French citizen named Dan Elkayam is among the people killed in the attack in Australia’s Bondi Beach, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.
Macron said he learned the news of Elkayam’s death “with deep sadness.”
“I think of his family and loved ones and express to them the full solidarity of the nation,” he wrote on X.
“We are the antidote”: Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah in Los Angeles
At the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, director of family programs Nina Silver said celebrations of the first day of Hanukkah had to continue as planned to honor the holiday’s history.
The annual festival will feature a candle-lighting ceremony at nightfall, klezmer music, and activities for children.
“When I came here today, I was greeted with a lot of determined faces that we are the antidote when we celebrate the joys of our people and the tradition and the history that we are able to come together and be a light in the darkness to everyone. Jewish joy is important.”
Cities worldwide step up security in Jewish communities after Bondi Beach mass shooting
Cities around the world, including New York City, Berlin, and London, ramped up security for Hanukkah events on Sunday following the attack on a Jewish holiday celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that extra protection was being deployed for Hanukkah celebrations and synagogues in New York City.
Berlin police said they were stepping up measures around the German capital’s Brandenburg Gate, where a large electric menorah was 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 police spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, London’s Metropolitan Police said it had also increased security.
“While there is no information to suggest any link between the attack in Sydney and the threat level in London, this morning we are stepping up our police presence, carrying out additional community patrols and engaging with the Jewish community to understand what more we can do in the coming hours and days,” the Met Police said in a statement.
Police seized 6 weapons owned by deceased suspected Bondi Beach attacker
Police seized six weapons that were owned by the 50-year-old suspected gunman who was shot and killed by police at the scene of the Bondi Beach attack, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said at a press conference on Monday morning.
Lanyon said that the suspect had held a firearms license for “approximately 10 years.”
During these years, there was “no incident” and his firearms were regulated, Lanyon said.
Earlier, NSW Police reported that they retrieved three weapons at the scene of the shooting.
Investigators carried out searches at two addresses — one at Bonnyrigg and the other at Campsie — where they recovered additional firearms, Lanyon said.
Police also found two “rudimentary” improvised explosive devices at the scene of the attack, which were determined to be active, Lanyon said. The devices were removed by the bomb disposal unit and were eventually rendered safe by the police.
Israel issues travel alert for citizens abroad after deadly shooting on Jewish community in Sydney
Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) issued a renewed security alert on Sunday, urging Israelis abroad to exercise heightened caution following a deadly shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia.
In a statement, the NSC said that “two terrorists opened fire (December 14, 2025) on families who had arrived at a Hanukkah event of the Jewish community held at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.” The council added that “at least 15 people were killed in the shooting, and dozens more were injured.”
The NSC warned of the potential for further violence “copycat’ attacks:
As a result, the council urged Israelis abroad to strictly follow updated safety measures. “Israelis abroad are urged to strongly avoid attending large public gatherings that are not secured,” the statement said, specifically citing “events in synagogues, Chabad centers, Hanukkah parties, and similar occasions.”
The advisory also called for heightened vigilance around Jewish and Israeli locations. “Remain alert around Jewish and Israeli sites, and report any suspicious activity or objects to local security forces,” the NSC said.
The alert comes amid heightened global security concerns following the Sydney attack, which authorities have declared a terrorist incident and has raised fears of additional threats to Jewish and Israeli communities worldwide.
Suspected gunmen in Bondi Beach shooting were father and son, police say
The suspects in the deadly shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach were a father and son, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said at a news conference.
The father, 50, was shot and killed by police at the scene.
The son, 24, is in critical but stable condition at the hospital, Lanyon said.
Police are not searching for additional suspects, he added.
“We are satisfied that there were two offenders involved in yesterday’s incident,” Lanyon said.
Lanyon declined to provide further details on the motive of the shooters, citing the ongoing investigation.
“We want to understand the motive behind these two people,” he said.
The shooting on Bondi Beach targeting Jewish Australians was "an act of pure evil," PM says
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denounced the shooting targeting the Jewish community, calling it “an act of pure evil.”
“This was an attack deliberately targeted at the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah, which, of course, should be a joyous celebration, and the Jewish community are hurting today,” he added.
Flags all across Australia will fly at half-staff on Monday, he declared.
Death toll rises to 15 in Bondi Beach shooting, police say
The death toll in the shooting on Australia’s Bondi Beach has risen to 15, New South Wales police have said.
A suspected gunman was also shot and killed at the scene, police said.
Police confirmed that 40 people remain in the hospital.
Trump mourns deadly shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia
US President Donald Trump mourned two deadly attacks this weekend — the mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and the attack targeting Australia’s Jewish community at Bondi Beach — at the top of his remarks at a White House Christmas reception.
“I want to pay my respects to the people,” Trump said Sunday afternoon, noting the nine injured in the shooting in Providence, Rhode Island, as well as the two deceased, who he said are “looking down on us right now from heaven.”
“Think of that and Brown University — great school, great, great, really, one of the greatest schools anywhere in the world. Things can happen,” he said.
Trump wished the nine injured at Brown to “get well fast,” and told the families of the two students killed, “I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States of America.”
He also said he had “great respect” for the man who tackled the alleged attacker in Australia, calling him a “a very, very brave person.”
“We’re here to celebrate Christmas and … I think today, we can first say, loudly, we celebrate Hanukkah because that was such a horrible attack, that was a purely antisemitic attack,” he told the crowd gathered in the adorned White House to celebrate the holidays.
First lady Melania Trump also opened her remarks at the reception acknowledging the loss felt by families affected by the violence.
“First of all, my thoughts and prayers go to the families of people who lost their loved ones around the world,” she said. “In this difficult time, we are celebrating here Christmas, and I’m thinking about them, what they’re going through.”
“My heart is with them,” the first lady added.
Palestinian Authority condemns Sydney attack, expresses solidarity with Australia
The Palestinian Authority has strongly condemned the shooting on Australia’s Bondi Beach that targeted Sydney’s Jewish community.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “full solidarity with and support for friendly Australia, its government and people, in this painful ordeal,” in a statement on Sunday.
“It reiterates its unequivocal rejection of all forms of violence, terrorism, and extremism, which contradict human values and moral principles,” the statement said.
The ministry also expressed “its deepest condolences and sympathies to the government and people of Australia, and to the families of the victims of this heinous attack, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.”
Pictured: Knesset lit up with colors of Australian flag
Israel’s Knesset parliament building in Jerusalem was lit up with the colors of the Australian flag on Sunday night, as a gesture of solidarity with the country’s Jewish community following the deadly attack at Bondi Beach on the first day of Hanukkah.
“The Knesset bows its head in memory of the victims of the horrific terror attack in Sydney and stands alongside the Jewish community in Australia,” Knesset speaker Amir Ohana said.
