A major terrorist shooting attack took place at Bondi Beach in Sydney during a large Jewish Hanukkah celebration. The event led to multiple deaths and injuries and has been officially treated as a targeted antisemitic attack by Australian authorities.
What occurred
Two gunmen opened fire near a Hanukkah event by the beach, where roughly a thousand people had gathered for a public menorah lighting and community celebration. People fled and sheltered in nearby buildings as police locked down the area and warned the public to avoid Bondi Beach and surrounding streets.
Casualties and victims
Officials have reported that about a dozen people were killed, including one of the attackers, and around 29 others were injured, among them at least two police officers. One of the dead has been identified as an assistant rabbi associated with the local Chabad community that organized the Hanukkah event.
Attackers and police response
Police engaged the two attackers at the scene, shooting and killing one and critically wounding and arresting the other. An explosive device suspected to be an improvised bomb was later found in a vehicle linked to one of the gunmen and was rendered safe by bomb squad officers.
Motive and classification
Australian federal and state authorities have declared the incident a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community, describing the motive as antisemitic. Security agencies have said at least one of the suspects was previously known to them, though had not been assessed as an immediate threat before the attack.
Context with earlier Bondi attack
This shooting follows a separate mass stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction in April 2024, when an attacker killed six people and injured several others before being shot by police. The two incidents are unrelated in perpetrators but have intensified debate in Australia about public security and protection of Jewish community events.