The Bondi Beach shooting appears to have been a terrorist attack specifically targeting a Jewish religious event, and authorities say antisemitic motives are central to their investigation. The full details of the attackers’ ideology and planning are still being pieced together by police and security agencies.
What happened
On the evening of 14 December 2025, two gunmen opened fire at a large Hanukkah celebration near Archer Park at Bondi Beach in Sydney, where members of the Jewish community had gathered. At least 15–16 people were killed and around 40 or more were injured, including children and police officers, before one attacker was killed by police and the other was taken into custody or hospital under guard.
Why police say it happened
Australian authorities have formally designated the shooting as a terrorist incident and stated that it was “designed to target” the Jewish community during a religious festival. Officials and major media describe the attack as antisemitic, meaning that hostility toward Jews and Judaism is believed to be a core motivation. One of the suspects had been known to national security services and was reported to have links or sympathy to extremist Islamist groups such as ISIS, though investigators have not yet presented a full public account of radicalisation or any direct operational control from those groups.
Who the attackers were
Police have identified the attackers as a father–son pair, roughly 50 and 24 years old, with the older man holding a firearms licence and at least six registered weapons. Authorities have said one of them was on the radar of the domestic intelligence agency but had previously been assessed as not posing an immediate threat. Searches of related properties and a vehicle turned up improvised explosive devices, reinforcing the assessment that this was a planned terrorist operation rather than a spontaneous act.
What is still unknown
Investigators are still working to clarify the precise mix of motives, including the balance between personal factors and ideological or organisational influences. At this stage, authorities emphasise that while the attack is clearly terrorist and antisemitic in nature, details such as any direct instructions, funding, or membership in a specific terrorist organisation have not been fully disclosed publicly.