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2026 February 06
Spouse	Separated mid–2015

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Gun laws after NZ.

Australian security agencies were criticised for failing to prevent the attack.

Diplomacy

Herzog

Herzog's visit was welcomed by the Zionist council, who claimed to have invited him.

A thousand or more Australian Jewish Australians opposed his visit. NOT USEFUL Aftab Malik – Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, appointed to the role in 2024 – demanded an apology from NSW police for using “excessive and unprovoked” violent force against a group of Muslims who were preying near a protest march in Sydney on Monday evening “including officers allegedly punching and grabbing people during prayer, throwing them onto the concrete, and using pepper spray”.

CASUALTIES

Two NSW police officers were injured.

DEMOGRAPHICS

According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry one Israeli was killed and another was injured, but did not name the victims.

The death of a French national was announced by French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

One of the dead was a Slovak citizen, according to Slovakian media. The same victim was also reported in other foreign media as having obtained Australian citizenship in 1972.

The first death announced was Rabbi Eli Schlanger. Rabbi Schlanger's was also the first funeral. The last funeral was for the event's photographer, in early January 2026 at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.

ES

Israeli news reported about the Israeli dual-citizen who was killed in the attack: "Rabbi Shlanger, a holder of Israeli and Australian citizenship, has served as a shlich in Sydney since 2008. He has been involved in commemorating the victims of the October 7 massacre around the world. In recent months, he has visited Israel and encouraged many soldiers".

alt version

Early reports said that according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry one Israeli was killed and another was injured, but did not name the victims.

A few of the victims killed were people from other religions who were in the area for various different reasons. For example, the event's photographer, whose funeral was in early January 2026 at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.

victim's family had a message

casualty references

Reflist

misc

IN BACKGROUND

check

The Bondi Junction stabbings occurred at a nearby shopping centre the previous year.

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Contents

(Top)

Background Religious and racial intolerance Violence and terrorism Islamic State

Attack Timeline Attack details Civilian intervention

Casualties List of victims killed

Investigations Initial investigation Accused Sajid Akram Naveed Akram Weapons Strategy of the Islamic State organisation Travel to the Philippines

Criminal proceedings

Aftermath Judicial and community responses Security responses Prevention of retaliatory race riots Other arrests Other anti-Muslim incidents Policy changes and proposals Immigration debates and hate crime laws Royal commission

Reactions to the attack Labelling as a massacre Tributes One Mitzvah for Bondi Responses from Australian political leaders Responses from Australian Jewish organisations Responses from Australian Islamic organisations Support for Ahmed al-Ahmed

Responses from overseas Islamic State media Israel Israeli presidential visit New Zealand United Kingdom United States Elsewhere overseas Criticism of Islamic State's enemies

Speculation and accusations Recognition of the state of Palestine False flag conspiracy theories

Documentaries

Misinformation

See also Notes References Further reading END PART below Draft40

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Some copy edits to the start, removed repetition and removed some things with no citations below.

2026 February 06
Location	Archer Park, Bondi Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Date	14 December 2025 (2025-12-14) 18:42 - 18:48 (AEDT, UTC+11:00)
Target	Jewish people at a Hannukah event
Attack type	Mass shooting and attempted bombing
Weapons	One Beretta BRX1 straight‑pull rifle Two 12-gauge Stoeger M3000 M3K shotguns Five homemade bombs
Deaths	16 (including 1 attacker)
Injured	40 (including the accused)
Perpetrator	Sajid Akram
No. of participants	2
Defenders	New South Wales Police Boris and Sofia Gurman Ahmed al-Ahmed Reuven Morrison
Motive	Antisemitism Anti-Zionism Islamic State ideology
Accused	Naveed Akram
Charges	59 counts Murder (15 counts) Attempted murder (40 counts) Committing a terrorist act Discharging firearm to cause grievous bodily harm Public display of prohibited terrorist symbol (the Muqwaki seal variant of the "Jihadist flag") Placing explosive with intent to cause harm

On 14 December 2025, an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack occurred at the Archer Park area of Bondi Beach in Eastern Sydney, Australia, during a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah attended by around 1,000 people. Two gunmen began shooting at 6:42 pm. They were allegedly Indian national Sajid Akram and his Australian son Naveed Akram, who were both shot at the scene by police. Sixteen people were killed including Sajid, eleven other men, three women, and a 10-year-old girl. Most of the victims were members of the Australian Jewish community.

Naveed survived and was treated at a Sydney hospital. He is now on remand in Goulburn Correctional Centre awaiting trial for 15 murders and 44 other charges. Four people confronted the gunmen, attempting to curb the attack. Three were killed and one suffered gunshot wounds. Volunteer surf lifesavers and Waverley Council lifeguards rushed to the scene to provide first aid during the active shooting. Members of the New South Wales Police Force shot the two alleged gunmen, killing Sajid and critically injuring Naveed, who was detained. Forty people, including two police officers, were injured and taken to various hospitals. Four homemade bombs were thrown into the crowd but failed to detonate. Another homemade bomb was found in a car belonging to one of the alleged shooters.

Numerous world leaders, news outlets and Australian authorities declared that the shooting was motivated by antisemitism. The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the shooting was "deliberately targeted at the Jewish community on the first day of Chanukah". The ongoing investigation by federal and New South Wales police forces is named "Operation Arques". A federal royal commission will examine the circumstances surrounding the attack. A federal review into federal agencies that had begun, before the decision to hold a royal commission had been made, will become part of the commission.

The Bondi shooting is the first fatal attack on Jews in Australia, the worst terrorist attack in Australia, and the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since 1996. Mass casualty attacks are uncommon in Australia; the country enacted strict gun laws in response to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in which 35 people were killed. Following the Bondi Beach shooting, the National Cabinet unanimously agreed to further restrict gun laws and introduce a gun buyback program. The attack led to changes to federal hate speech laws and was marked by a national day of reflection and a national day of mourning. In New South Wales, the attack led to changes to terrorism and protest laws.

Background

Further information: Gun laws of Australia, Terrorism in Australia, and Antisemitism in Australia

Religious and racial intolerance

The December 2025 attack in Bondi was the first deadly attack targeting Jews in Australia. Prior to this incident, the Australian Jewish community experienced an increase in antisemitic attacks on Jewish individuals and institutions since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023. The shooting targeted an annual community Hanukkah celebration organised by Chabad named "Chanukah by the Sea". The event was held at Archer Park just east of the Bondi Pavilion, with around 1,000 people in attendance.

Extremist groups have risen in Australia over the past decade, including neo-Nazi groups such as the National Socialist Network. In January 2024, the federal government banned Nazi salutes and displaying Nazi symbols such as the swastika. In February 2025, the laws were changed to mandatory minimum jail sentences. In November 2025, there was a neo-Nazi rally outside NSW parliament.

Violence and terrorism

See also: Timeline of the Islamic State and Australasia

The Bondi Beach shooting is the worst terrorist attack committed in Australia, and the most deadly shooting since 1996.

The deadliest terror attack in Australian history was the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 88 Australians and 124 others in neighbouring Indonesia. The largest terrorist attack allegedly committed by an Australian is a mass shooting that killed 51 people in New Zealand on 15 Merch 2019.

Mass casualty terrorism is rare in Australia, whose gun laws include restrictions on automatic, semi-automatic and pump action rifles, as well as shotguns, which were introduced after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Despite this, the number of firearms in Australia, and the number of people licensed to own them, has increased, and hit "a record high" before the shootings. In New South Wales, where the Bondi Beach shooting took place, there were 260,000 gun licences in 2025, up from 181,000 in 2001.

Mass shootings are rare, however, there were two notable public stabbings in Sydney in April 2024. One was a mass stabbing incident at Bondi Junction, a shopping centre near Bondi Beach. The other targeted an Assyrian Australian Bishop, Mari Emmanuel, at during a sermon at his church in Wakeley, greater Sydney.

In August 2024, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation raised Australia's national terrorism threat level from "possible" to "probable", citing the risk of community tensions and political violence related to the Gaza war as one of the reasons for doing so.

Islamic State

Not to be confused with Islamic state or Islamic Republic.

From 2012 until 2019 over 200 Australians migrated to the self-described "Islamic State" in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) while the movement controlled territory in that region. This included women and children. Some of the most infamous fighters were Australians, such as Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar. Sharrouf posed with the head of a decapitated Syrian soldier in ISIS propaganda. Australians also carried out suicide bombings for Islamic State, including Jake Bilardi, a Melbourne teenager from an atheist family.

After they lost control of the territory in Iraq and Syria, ISIS changed strategy, to focus on inciting lone wolf attacks. The style of the attack resembles other Islamic State attacks on Jewish and Christian targets. However, Islamic State has not previously focused on the Palestine conflict with Israel.

Attack

External videos
Drone footage showing one gunman neutralized and the other continuing to fire his weapon
Beachgoers fleeing en masse
Compilation by Euronews of the gunmen firing their weapons

120m
131yds

4

3

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1

   

1

Footbridge

2

Archer Park

3

Bondi Pavilion

4

Bondi Beach

Police allege that Sajid and Naveed Akram, a father and his son, threw three pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb into the crowd from a footbridge arching over the carpark to the north of the Bondi Pavilion, all of which failed to detonate. After throwing the bombs, they began shooting into the crowd. Initial videos of the attack showed two men dressed in black tops firing on the crowd from the footbridge, reportedly with a straight pull bolt action rifle and a shotgun. Emergency services were first called to the scene at 18:47 (AEDT, UTC+11). New South Wales Police released a statement at 18:57 confirming their response to an ongoing incident.

Timeline

Time	Event	Ref.
5:00 p.m.	"Chanukah by the Sea" event starts.
6:40 p.m.	The gunmen park their car (a silver 2001 Hyundai Elantra) on Campbell Parade near a footbridge. They are confronted by a couple, who are subsequently killed.
6:42 p.m.	The gunmen begin firing into the crowd from the footbridge.
6:43 - 6:45 p.m.	Police receive phone calls about a shooting.
6:47 to 6:49 p.m.	The older gunman walks off the footbridge towards the park. A bystander disarms him. The older gunman walks back to the footbridge and picks up another rifle.
6:49 to 6:51 p.m.	Police begin firing at the gunmen. Both gunmen are shot and fall to the ground.
6:57 p.m.	Police release a statement confirming that an incident is being responded to, and urge the public to avoid the area.
7:08 p.m.	Ambulances arrive at the scene.
7:14 p.m.	Police release a statement saying they are still responding and urging the public to take shelter.
7:37 p.m.	Police announce that two people are in custody.
8:00 p.m.	Police raid the home of the suspects.
9:36 p.m.	The police commissioner declares a terrorist attack.
10:13 p.m.	Police disarm bombs in the suspects' car.

Attack details

The younger gunman paused and appeared to wave away bystanders approaching him from directions other than that of the Hanukkah celebration, before resuming fire at the Jewish gathering.

A bystander began capturing a nearly continuous 11-minute video shortly after the gunmen opened fire, filming the attackers from the street side of the footbridge approximately 50 metres (160 ft) away. The video captured the final moments of the shooting including the first police officer stepping onto the footbridge to apprehend the gunmen, as well as the treating of wounded people.

Several police officers used their pistols to shoot at the gunmen from both sides of the footbridge. A detective, using a tree as cover approximately 40 metres (130 ft) away, fired on the gunmen from behind, killing Sajid with a fatal shot to the head. The detective, and also a female officer, are believed to have shot at Naveed and both wounded him in the stomach. A bystander went onto the bridge and kicked away a weapon from one of the gunmen; continued fire forced him to duck, and the bystander was briefly mistaken for an attacker by other bystanders. The attack had lasted for six minutes from 18:42 to 18:48.

According to The Guardian, the first thing police did when they reached the footbridge was give CPR to Naveed. The wounded Naveed was apprehended by police and rushed to hospital in critical condition. The gunmen had fired about 83 rounds, with approximately 20 additional rounds fired by police.

More than 123 ambulance personnel attended the scene.

Civilian intervention

External videos
Dashcam captures Boris and Sofia Gurman struggle with one of the gunmen
Ahmed al-Ahmed tackles one of the gunmen

The spot where Ahmed al-Ahmed disarmed Sajid

Numerous acts of intervention by civilians were exhibited during the attack. Prior to the start of the attack, Boris and Sofia Gurman, a Russian-Jewish Australian couple, noticed an Islamic State flag displayed on a parked vehicle. Sajid exited the vehicle, at which point the Gurmans struggled with him, seizing his gun. Sajid then retrieved another rifle and shot them both dead.

During the attack itself, Ahmed al-Ahmed, an unarmed 43-year-old Syrian Australian Muslim and father of two born in Al-Nayrab, Syria, disarmed Sajid. Al-Ahmed approached him by crouching between two parked cars. He approached the gunman from behind, seized the weapon, and turned it toward Sajid before propping the weapon against a tree. Sajid then retreated to the bridge, where one of the gunmen shot and wounded al-Ahmed twice.

After reaching a safe place, Gefen Bitton ran back toward the gunfire after seeing al-Ahmed confront Sajid. While doing this, he was shot several times and was critically injured.

Reuven Morrison charged Sajid as he retreated, throwing a brick and attempting to disrupt the attack. A gunman shot and killed him.

In addition to those who directly confronted the gunmen, off-duty volunteer lifesavers from Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club and North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club, immediately adjacent to Archer Park, rushed to the aid of victims under fire at the risk to their own lives. They were on the (unsecured) scene before ambulance crews arrived. They used surfboards as stretchers and depleted the club's stock of bandages, as well as giving approximately 250 people shelter inside the club, including a heavily pregnant woman who went into labour during the attack. There was also one water rescue.

New South Wales Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane was among those present who helped surf lifesavers giving first aid to victims.

• 
  A 2018 aerial view of Bondi Beach proper; Archer Park is in the centre, with the footbridge over the car park to its north. The curving road is Campbell Parade.
• 
  The gunmen mostly fired from this footbridge (2019 photo). The view is from the northwest; Archer Park is in the background.

Casualties

Sixteen people were killed in the attack (including gunman Sajid Akram, who was killed at the scene by police), with fourteen having died at the scene and two in a hospital. Forty people were injured and taken to a hospital, including the other alleged gunman, Naveed Akram, with five people in critical condition. As of 9 January 2026, five people remained in hospital in Sydney.

Victim identity change

Liverpool Hospital changed the name of victim Rosalia Shikhverg to "Karen Jones" in their records while she was a patient there. The reason given was to protect Shikhverg's privacy, however, Shikhverg believed it was to deceive hospital staff treating her.

List of victims killed

The fifteen victims killed in the shooting were:

• Edith Brutman, 68, vice president of B'nai B'rith NSW anti-prejudice and anti-discrimination committee
• Dan Elkayam, 27, a French national who played for Rockdale Ilinden FC and worked in Sydney as an IT analyst for NBCUniversal
• Boris, 69, and Sofia Gurman, 61, who disarmed the older gunman on his arrival but were killed with another rifle
• Alex Kleytman, 87, a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Australia from Ukraine and worked as a civil engineer
• Yaakov Levitan, 39, a South African–born rabbi who was secretary of Sydney Beth Din
• Peter Meagher, 61, retired police detective and Randwick DRUFC manager who was hired as a freelance photographer at Chanukah by the Sea
• Reuven Morrison, 62, a Soviet–born businessman who threw an object at the older gunman before being killed
• Marika Pogany, 82, a Czechoslovakian-born Australian volunteer who delivered meals and services to Jewish seniors
• Matilda, 10, the youngest fatality; a student at La Perouse Public School, born to Ukrainian immigrants
• Eli Schlanger, 41, British-born Israeli-Australian dual citizen, assistant rabbi of Chabad and chaplain for Corrective Services NSW
• Adam Smyth, 50, a Bondi local taking a walk with his wife Katrina
• Boris Tetleroyd, 68, a visitor at the Hanukkah event who died alongside his wounded son
• Tania Tretiak, 68, a Randwick resident attending the event with her family
• Tibor Weitzen, 78, Soviet–born automotive engineer who died shielding his wife and Edith Brutman

Investigations

Initial investigation

On the night of the attack, the NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon declared the attack a terrorist incident, Australian intelligence officials said one of the offenders was known to them. After the shooting, police located a large box-like homemade bomb in the boot of the suspects' vehicle. The investigation was named Operation Arques. Following the incident, Operation Shelter, a NSW Police operation aimed at preventing antisemitic and other hate-related attacks, was expanded, with additional personnel, resources, and operational support deployed to boost surveillance and increase police presence across Sydney.

On the day of the attack, police raided a property in Bonnyrigg where the gunmen had lived. Three people were taken into custody, but released without charge shortly thereafter.

Police raided an Airbnb house in Campsie where the suspects were believed to have been staying prior to the attack. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the pair had told family members they were going on a fishing trip to Jervis Bay.

On 16 December, the Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said that "Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State".

The motivations were described by Albanese and NSW Police as encompassing and being rooted in antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and the ideology of the Islamic State.

On 22 December, further details of the attack were later released following the lifting of a court suppression order, that four homemade bombs had been thrown into the crowd but had failed to detonate. Also released, were screenshots from a video located on Naveed's phone, that show him and Sajid allegedly conducting firearms training in October 2025 in a rural location. Another video, also located on Naveed's phone filmed in October, allegedly shows him and Sajid sitting in front of an image of an IS flag in which the two make statements "condemning the acts of 'Zionists'".

On 30 December, Barrett said that "There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell or were directed by others to carry out an attack".

Sajid's family in Hyderabad were questioned by Indian authorities.

Accused

See also: Islamic State terrorism and Australia

Naveed and Sajid Akram outside their Campsie rental house at about 2 a.m. on 14 December

According to New South Wales police commissioner Mal Lanyon, the alleged shooters were a father and son duo; 50-year-old Sajid Akram (c. 1975 – 14 December 2025), and 24-year-old Naveed Akram (born 12 August 2001). Sajid was a fruit shop owner, and Naveed was an unemployed bricklayer. ANU radicalisation expert Clarke Jones said it is unusual for a father and son to attack together: "families are the protective factors, the ones who minimise the chances of a young person going out and doing crazy stuff". However, Levi West, an ANU expert in countering violent extremism, said "If the two are on board, they are driving each other".

Sajid Akram

Sajid was shot and killed by police at the scene of the attack.

The Telangana Police reported that Sajid was an Indian national born into a family from Tolichowki, Hyderabad, who was a former student at Anwar-ul College in Nampally and had emigrated to Australia on 8 November 1998 on a student visa after completing a business degree in Hyderabad and marrying a woman in Australia. Telangana Police also reported that Sajid had no "adverse record" prior to his emigration, and that his family in India appeared to be unaware of his "radical mindset or activities". According to Australian Home Affairs minister Tony Burke, he transferred to a partner visa in 2001 and later obtained a resident return visa because he was an Australian permanent resident.

Sajid's Indian family cut ties with him after he married an Australian woman of Italian descent in 2001. Sajid Akram's brother, who lives in Hyderabad, spoke to The News Minute, an Indian news organisation. He said that the family cut ties with Sajid after Sajid married a Christian woman in Australia. The brothers had also had disputes about property.

Sajid's Italian Australian wife, from whom he was estranged, owns the family home in Bonnyrigg after Sajid assigned his share to her. His wife refused to claim his body, and he would be given a destitute burial by the NSW Government.

Naveed Akram

In 2001, Sajid's son Naveed was born in Australia, and is a citizen due to his mother's citizenship and his father's permanent residence.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess has publicly stated that Naveed was "known" to ASIO in 2019. According to the ABC this was in association with a July 2019 investigation into Islamic State Sydney cell leader Isaac El Matari. Teenage Naveed, Naveed Akram followed radical Islamic preacher William Haddad (known as "Wissam Haddad" and "Abu Ousayd"), who was found to have violated Australia's racial hatred laws in July 2025. Multiple men linked to Haddad have been convicted of terrorism-related offences, but none had carried out attacks. Naveed was investigated in relation to these connections and authorities concluded he was not a high-risk member of the network. In response to a Four Corners investigation in 2026, ASIO defended their 2019 investigation and criticised a former undercover agent the ABC used as a source.

After being shot at the scene, Naveed was hospitalised in critical condition and woke from a coma two days later on 17 December. He is being held on remand in Goulburn Supermax, having been charged with 59 offences, including 15 murders.

Weapons

Sajid had a firearms licence, was the registered owner of six guns, and was a member of a shooting club, Zastava Hunting Association. Naveed had trained at the same shooting club. The Serbian Times said the Naveed had a membership card, but quoted the Zastava club president as saying "we haven't seen him for five years".

Three firearms were used during the attack, and a fourth was located at the scene. The firearms used during the attack are believed to be a Beretta BRX1 .308 straight-pull rifle and two Stoeger M3000 M3K 12-gauge straight-pull shotguns. These weapons were imported to Australia to bypass restrictions on pump actions, as they are capable of a rate of fire which is not greatly inferior to the banned weapons.

Strategy of the Islamic State organisation

Naveed had been known to intelligence officials since 2019 but was deemed "not an immediate threat". The Akrams were inspired by Islamic State ideology, and appear to fit the profile of "lone wolf" attackers, This style was adopted by Islamic State after they lost their territory in Iraq and Syria in 2019, but had been sanctioning as part of their strategy since 2014. Police said both gunmen had pledged allegiance to IS, and two IS flags were found in their car. According to police reports, documents prove the gunmen planned the attack months ahead.

Travel to the Philippines

Australian counterterrorism officials are looking into a trip the two suspects made to the Philippines a month before the attack, to see whether they received military training there. According to Filipino officials, the men travelled to Manila on 1 November, Sajid Akram on an Indian passport and Naveed Akram on an Australian one, and then headed to Davao City, on the island of Mindanao, where an IS insurgency is ongoing. According to local police and staff, they spent their entire 28-day stay in Davao City, rarely leaving their hotel room and then for only an hour or so at a time, and receiving no visitors, before departing on 28 November. According to hotel staff, they had initially booked a 7-day stay, but repeatedly extended it.

According to the Philippine National Police, the pair rarely left the hotel during their visit, and there is no evidence that they undertook training for their attacks. In the Philippines, the country's National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are investigating the claim that the shooting suspects went to Mindanao prior to the attack. The Office of the President strongly rejected the characterization of the Philippines as an "ISIS training ground". The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) called characterization of Mindanao as a "terror hotspot" in light of the Bondi Beach shooting as "misleading" and "unfair" and used the results of the 3rd quarter 2025 Mindanao Safety and Security Perception to refute it. In the opinion poll conducted by MinDA, respondents yielded a 88.51% in safety perception. The country's Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed Australian authorities statement on 30 December that there is no evidence the suspects were part of a terrorist cell or trained in the Philippines.

Criminal proceedings

On 17 December, police charged Naveed Akram with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, one count of committing a terrorist act, and 40 counts of attempted murder. He did not request bail, and his court date was set for 8 April 2026. Additional charges included discharging a firearm to cause grievous bodily harm, public display of prohibited terrorist symbols, and placing an explosive with intent to cause harm. On 22 December 2025, Naveed was moved from Royal North Shore Hospital to Long Bay Correctional Centre. On 5 January 2026, he was transferred to Goulburn Correctional Centre, a supermax prison.

Aftermath

Judicial and community responses

The inquest findings for the April 2024 Bondi Junction stabbings were due days after the shooting, but the delivery of the findings was delayed out of respect for the Bondi victims.

After a Lifeblood request for O-negative blood donations, over 50,000 people volunteered to donate blood.

Security responses

Following the shooting, the Queensland Police Service increased their security presence at Jewish places of worship. Across Australia and New Zealand, Jewish events were cancelled due to the security risks from terror threats, after already having had to cancel many public events in recent years due to the high risk of attacks. In other areas of Sydney, Jewish synagogues, schools, and similar sites were closed on 15 December.

Victorian premier Jacinta Allan increased funding for security services for Jewish spaces.

Prevention of retaliatory race riots

The Bondi shooting exacerbated older ethnic and religious tensions in the community. In the immediate aftermath of the attack there was a threat of escalating violence with incitement circulated online focused on Cronulla, a beach near Bondi that was the epicentre of a previous anti-Arab and anti-Muslim race riot in 2005. In response to this, public assemblies were prohibited across the entire Sydney metro area for 14 days. The targets of the calls for violent retaliation were the "Middle Eastern" and broader locally-described "wog" ethnic groups, referring to Lebanese Australians and other Eastern Mediterranean ethnic groups, the target of the previous mob violence. The previous race riots, 20 years earlier, were triggered by local violent crimes committed by individual Lebanese Australian men in Sydney, in the context of tensions already heightened by terrorist attacks in Bali in 2002 targeting Australian tourists, and the September 11 attacks in 2001. A 20-year-old man appeared in court on charges of "using a carriage service to menace, harass, offend, and publicly threaten violence on grounds of race or religion", for attempting to incite retaliatory mob violence in response to the Bondi shooting. The article headline in The Tenterfield Star called him a "Muslim hater". He was denied bail.

Other arrests

• A man in Perth was arrested on 23 December 2025 for expressing support for the attack. Police in Perth discovered six rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition and Hezbollah and Hamas flags in the man's home.

• A police employee in Queensland was charged on 5 January 2026 with antisemitic online posts and comments related to the Bondi shooting.

Other anti-Muslim incidents

See also: Islamophobia in Australia and Islamophobia during the Gaza war § Australia

Two weeks after the attack, the Australian National Imams Council reported an almost tripling in hostile acts towards Australian Muslims and Islamic institutions, including vandalism, online abuse, and physical intimidation, in particular towards women wearing hijabs. Some groups started taking security measures, such as members sleeping in mosques overnight to protect the buildings against vandalism.

Policy changes and proposals

Albanese vowed to advocate for stricter gun laws following the attack. On the day following the shooting, the National Cabinet, which consists of the leaders of Australia's state and territory governments and the prime minister, unanimously agreed to strengthen gun laws. Proposals brought forward during the meeting included restricting firearm ownership to Australian citizens only, accelerating the launch of a national firearms register, limiting the number of firearms a single person can own, and further restricting the types of legal weapons. The NSW Parliament was recalled to debate the state's proposed reforms before Christmas. On 19 December, Albanese announced that the federal government will establish a gun buyback program, which will require the state and territory governments to agree to ambitious new gun law reforms. The Albanese government intends to introduce legislation into parliament to fund the buyback scheme, under a 50:50 cost-sharing arrangement between Australia's federal government and its state and territory governments.

On 18 December, the Albanese government responded to a report delivered to the government in July 2025 on antisemitism, by the government's special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal, saying that they would take action on all the report's recommendations. The same day, the Albanese government announced the strengthening of hate speech laws. The Minister for Home Affairs would receive new powers to cancel or reject visas of hate preachers. A taskforce to ensure that the education system counters antisemitism will be set up. Special envoy Segal had previously supported lessons on antisemitism and the Holocaust.

On 24 December, the NSW government passed new legislation – the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 – addressing hate speech, the display of offensive symbols and tightened gun controls. Premier Minns stated that the government will take stronger action against what it classifies as hate speech and confirmed plans to have the chant "globalise the intifada" officially designated as hate speech.

Immigration debates and hate crime laws

The attack prompted discussions regarding Australia's immigration framework and gun laws, with some officials questioning the pathways from temporary visas to permanent residency and the criteria for obtaining a firearms license as a non-citizen permanent resident. On 12 January 2026, Albanese announced that the Australian Parliament would reconvene on 19 January to introduce fast-tracked hate speech and firearms legislation. The Prime Minister also confirmed that the federal government would seek cross-party support from the Coalition and Australian Greens. Sajid was born to a Muslim family in India, and had repeatedly failed to obtain Australian citizenship; he remained an Indian citizen. The Indian Express pointed out that Islamic State recruits who travelled to Iraq and Syria were far more common from Australia (over 200) than India (approximately 100), despite India's far larger population.

In January 2024, the federal government banned Nazi salutes and displaying Nazi symbols such as the swastika. In February 2025, the laws were changed to mandatory minimum jail sentences.

Royal commission

Main article: Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion

In the days following the attack, the New South Wales government announced that it would hold a royal commission to investigate the actions of New South Wales authorities, including the police response, gun licensing issues and antisemitism.

On 21 December, Albanese announced an Independent Commonwealth Review into Australia's federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to be led by retired public servant Dennis Richardson that would deliver a public report on the attack to government by the end of April 2026. On 29 December, the review's terms of reference were released. On 29 December, Albanese said that there were no plans for a federal royal commission, as it would give a platform to antisemitic view, and was not the best format for national security issues.

On 8 January, Albanese announced a federal Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion which will examine the circumstances surrounding the attack. Former High Court justice Virginia Bell has been appointed the commissioner. The Richardson review will become part of the commission and he will support its work, with delivery of an interim report by the commission in April. The federal royal commission will replace the proposed state-based New South Wales royal commission. The commissioner is required to deliver her report before the end of 2026.

On 8 January, the Law Council of Australia, prior to the release of the royal commission's terms of reference, suggested that the New Zealand's royal commission into the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings could provide a "blueprint" for a royal commission into the attack "to ensure a criminal case is not compromised." On 9 January, the royal commission's terms of reference were released.

Reactions to the attack

Labelling as a massacre

Organisations such as the DPMC, SBS News, ABC News, The Ethics Centre and The Guardian have referred to the attack as the Bondi massacre.

Tributes

A large floral memorial was established at the Bondi Pavilion.

Person paying tribute at the footbridge where the shooters fired

On the second day of Hanukkah, the Sydney Opera House was lit with an image of candles on the Menorah. The decision to do this was an initiative of the NSW Premier Chris Minns.

At the third Ashes test in Adelaide on 17 December, a three-minute silence was observed before the start of play, while both the Australian and English teams wore black armbands in memory of the victims of the shooting. A second tribute was held at the opening of the fifth Ashes test in Sydney on 4 January 2026 to honour victims and first responders.

On 21 December, a nationwide minute of silence was held in Australia as part of a national day of reflection over the shooting.

The 2025 Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks event included a minute's silence at 11pm and the projection of a menorah onto the pylons. The original plan was for a dove with the word "Peace" but after criticism from the Jewish community, the decision was made to feature a Jewish-specific symbol.

On 22 January 2026, Australia observed a national day of mourning.

On the Jewish holiday of Tu BiShvat, in early February 2026, the Jewish community planted trees in honour of those killed in the attack.

Two days after the attack, the prime minister visited Syrian-born Ahmed al-Ahmed in hospital. On 18 December, al-Ahmed received A$2.5 million in donations from GoFundMe, with the largest donation coming from Jewish-American billionaire Bill Ackman, who donated A$99,999.

One Mitzvah for Bondi

Main article: One Mitzvah for Bondi

Led by Steve Kamper, the Minister for Multiculturalism, an emergency meeting of the New South Wales Faith Affairs Council was held on 19 December, at which the campaign One Mitzvah for Bondi was established. Premier Chris Minns announced the project at a vigil at Bondi Beach on the eighth and final night of the holiday on 21 December. The effort encourages individuals to make the commitment to perform a mitzvah, the Jewish principle of performing an act of kindness or charity, on behalf of a neighbour or of the community at large, citing the message of Hanukkah "that darkness cannot extinguish the light".

Responses from Australian political leaders

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese described the shooting as "shocking and distressing" and called it "deliberately targeted at the Jewish community on the first day of Chanukah" and "an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism and terrorism on our shores". He later said that more could have been done to prevent the attack, and that he accepts his share of responsibility as the prime minister. The minister for home affairs, Tony Burke, called the shooting an "appalling act of violence". The Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns, said "the reports and images coming out of Bondi tonight are deeply distressing" and encouraged people to follow the directions of police.

Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley delayed the release of the Coalition's new migration policy, citing concerns about fraying social cohesion and the risk that a fresh debate on migration levels would be inflammatory during "an extremely sensitive time". Instead of pursuing the migration debate, Ley shifted the Coalition's focus to national security and counterterrorism, calling for the immediate formation of an antisemitism and counter-terrorism taskforce. Ley caused controversy and confusion by stating that the Royal Commission "must include reference to radical Islamic extremism, as well as far-left (pause) neo-Nazi extremism". When asked if she meant that Nazis were left wing, she said, "Far left and neo-Nazi extremism were the words that I used. Yes."

Responses from Australian Jewish organisations

Various Australian Jewish organisations had differing responses. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry issued a statement saying: "The time for talking is over. We need decisive leadership and action now to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism from Australia's public life, for which the Jewish community has long been advocating ... The shooting attack targeted the Jewish community but it took place at Bondi Beach, the people's beach, on what should have been a carefree summer's day. It was an attack on all Australians, our freedoms and our way of life." The CEO of the conservative Australian Jewish Association, Robert Gregory, said: "This is an attack on the Jewish community that deeply pains us as a community." The president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Jeremy Leibler, said: "An attack on Jews celebrating their faith is an attack on Australia itself. It is an assault on our values, our social cohesion, and the basic right of people to gather without fear."

Other organisations issuing statements included the Jewish Communal Appeal, Chabad NSW, Jewish National Fund Australia, Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, Sydney Jewish Museum, Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies, Anti-Defamation Commission, and The Joint Australia.

Co-founder and executive of the progressive non-Zionist group Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) Max Kaiser called remarks by special envoy Jillian Segal "highly irresponsible", for a statement suggesting that the attack was a logical consequence of pro-Palestinian protests since October 2023. The JCA later published an online petition calling upon the prime minister and all Australian leaders to oppose division hindering the fight against antisemitism.

Responses from Australian Islamic organisations

The vast majority of Muslims in Australia and worldwide reject the Islamic State. The Australian National Imams Council also condemned the shooting, saying: "This is a moment for all Australians, including the Australian Muslim community, to stand together in unity, compassion, and solidarity, rejecting violence in all its forms and affirming our shared commitment to social harmony and the safety of all Australians". They issued a statement saying the council stood in solidarity with the Australian Jewish community and "unequivocally condemns ISIS as an evil, dangerous terrorist organisation whose actions and ideology stand in complete opposition to the teachings of Islam and the values upheld by Muslims worldwide". Muslim leaders in Sydney refused to perform funeral rites or receive the deceased gunman's body, condemning the shooting as a "barbaric, criminal, and terrorist act". The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network condemned the attack and said "perpetrators of this horrendous attack do not represent our movement or the values we uphold".

Support for Ahmed al-Ahmed

International leaders spoke in support of Ahmed al-Ahmed, the bystander who intervened to disarm one of the attackers, praising his bravery. These leaders included Netanyahu, who referred to him as a "brave Muslim, and I salute him" and Trump who said that he was "a very, very brave person" who "saved a lot of lives". King Charles' 2025 Christmas message alluded to the actions of al-Ahmed and others who intervened, describing "the ways in which individuals and communities display spontaneous bravery, instinctively placing themselves in harm's way to defend others" as a short clip of floral tributes at Bondi was displayed.

Eva Corlett, The Guardian's correspondent from Wellington New Zealand, wrote that many global headlines covering the shooting centred on the intervention from bystander al-Ahmed. Jonathan Sacerdoti wrote in The Jewish Chronicle that British news media emphasised the heroism of al-Ahmed while editorially sidelining the fact that Jews were killed in an act of antisemitic terror.

Responses from overseas

Islamic State media

See also: Mass media use by the Islamic State

On 18 December, Islamic State media called the attack a "source of pride" on its Telegram channel. Reuters and several other media sources in English described the announcement as not claiming responsibility. According to SITE Intelligence, IS has been using the attack as propaganda. Islamic State also dedicated the entire full page editorial to the attack in the 18 December 2025 issue of Al-Naba, their Arabic-language propaganda magazine. Lebanese news quoted the al-Naba editorial as saying, "The Islamic State's official speeches and writings have consistently incited attacks against Jews and Christians during their holidays and gatherings," and the attackers "answered the call and carried out the recommendations to target holidays and gatherings".

Israel

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the attack on Sunday 14 December Israeli time (Monday AEDT). Netanyahu delivered a speech from a government meeting at Dimona. Netanyahu attacked prime minister Albanese and called antisemitism a "cancer". In what The Times of Israel called "an oblique attack on the Australian government" Netanyahu said, "...We will continue to demand from them to do what is demanded of leaders of free nations. We will not give up, we will not bow our heads, we will continue to fight as our ancestors did".

Soon after the attack, pro-Israel outlets pointed out that Israel had warned Australia about possible attacks from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The following day, the Australian Financial Review said Mossad was "helping" ASIO, despite the previous misdirection.

Writing in Haaretz, Dana Segall said that progressive reactions to the attack failed to acknowledge and emphasise its antisemitic nature, "dilut[ing] Jewish victimhood into a vague slurry of 'violence,' 'tragedy,' and 'shared humanity'."

Israeli presidential visit

On 9 February 2026, Israeli president Isaac Herzog began an official visit to Australia, arriving in Sydney and laying of a wreath at the Bondi Beach memorial site, where he also met survivors and victims' families.

Herzog was able to visit Australia because, unlike Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog is not the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Court of Justice. However there were still calls for Herzog to be arrested, and discussion about whether this was possible.

In debates in the Australian Senate before the visit, The Australian Greens said that the president's visit would "inflame community tensions". The visit was also criticised in advance by Ed Husic, a federal member of parliament guy the ruling Australian Labor Party.

The Jewish Council of Australia opposed his visit, urging the Australian government to rescind the invitation. According to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the visit was intended to "lift the spirits of a pained community", express solidarity with Jewish Australians and recalibrate bilateral ties. His visit was also welcomed by the Zionist Federation of Australia.

United Nations Commissioner Chris Sidoti said the visit should not have happened because Herzog is personally guilty of incitement to genocide, relating to the genocide in Gaza. The visit drew attention to other past actions of Herzog, such as signing bombs that were later dropped in Gaza.

Herzog's visit was met with several protests, including pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza and opposing Herzog’s presence. Police used pepper spray on protesters and journalists in Sydney.

More than 100 Muslim organisations condemned the actions of NSW Police using disproportionate force against the group of Australian Muslims who were praying near the rally. Aftab Malik, Australia’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia, demanded an apology from NSW police for using “excessive and unprovoked” force against a group of Muslim men who conducted impromptu prayers during a protest in Sydney which, according to premier Minns, was in "the middle of a riot".

Prime minister Albanese said that he has spoken to the president about criminal prosecution of the Israel Defense Forces personnel who killed Zomi Frankcom, an Australian aid worker in the Gaza Strip, in Palestine, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on the World Central Kitchen aid convoy she was travelling in. Zomi's brother, Mal Frankcom, said the family are 'determined to pursue justice and accountability' for his sister's death and the deaths of 6 other aid works killed by the same drone strike.

A demonstration outside parliament house in Canberra was assessed by Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi and joined by independent senator David Pocock

New Zealand

Vigil for victims of the Bondi Beach shooting at Dunedin's Cenotaph in New Zealand

Press statements were made by the New Zealand prime minister, Christopher Luxon, and armed police in New Zealand were deployed on 15 December to guard Jewish sites across the country, including the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand and Kadimah School.

United Kingdom

A press statement was made by UK prime minister Keir Starmer.

King Charles III, Australia's head of state, wrote:

In times of hurt, Australians always rally together in unity and resolve. I know that the spirit of community and love that shines so brightly in Australia ... will always triumph over the darkness of such evil.

In the United Kingdom, authorities cited the Bondi Beach attack as a factor in increasing enforcement against potentially violent protest behavior, alongside the Manchester synagogue attack that took place on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on 2 October 2025. On 17 December 2025, police forces in London and Greater Manchester announced that individuals chanting "globalise the intifada" at protests would be arrested, describing the action as necessary because "violent acts have taken place, the context has changed, words have meaning and consequence."

United States

US President Donald Trump described the shooting as an "antisemitic attack".

According to The Jerusalem Post, a U.S. official told Fox News that the United States would support Israeli strikes on Iran, if the Bondi attack was ordered by Iran.

Jfeed.com reported that (United States citizen) Mosab Hassan Yousef, a former militant and the son of one of the cofounders of militant organisation Hamas, described the shooting as "the inevitable result of years of global indoctrination and demonization of Jews".

Elsewhere overseas

The attack was condemned by many other nations:

• French president Emmanuel Macron expressed "deep sadness" at the death of a French citizen.

• Indian prime minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack, adding that "India has zero tolerance towards terrorism and supports the fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism".

• The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a condemnation of the shooting, with spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei writing on X that "Terror and killing of human beings, wherever committed, is rejected and condemned". He also said "We condemn the violent attack in Sydney, Australia. Terror violence and mass killing shall be condemned, wherever they're committed".

• Jordan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Fouad al-Majali affirmed Jordan's solidarity with "friendly Australia".

• Pakistan's prime minister and president condemned the attack. Arab News Pakistan reported that "Pakistan says it stands in solidarity with Australia", and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned "terrorism in all its forms and manifestations". President Asif Ali Zardari said "Pakistan itself a victim of terrorism, stands in solidarity with and condemns violence against innocent civilians". Both men expressed condolences to the victims.

• The Palestinian Authority said it condemned the attack and that it rejected "all forms of extremism and terrorism, including the killing of civilians".

• Qatar's Foreign Ministry said the nation rejects "violence, terrorism and criminal acts regardless of their motives or causes".

• The Saudi foreign ministry issued a statement saying, "The Kingdom affirms its stance against all forms of violence, terrorism, and extremism" and offering "sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Australia".

• Slovakia.

• The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing condolences for the families of victims and saying, "Türkiye reiterates its principled stance against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations". TRT World reported, "The ministry stressed that Türkiye stands in solidarity with Australia".

• The United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country "strongly condemns such criminal acts" and rejects "all forms of violence and terrorism".

Criticism of Islamic State's enemies

Further information on the related conflicts: Islamic State–Taliban conflict and Iran and the Islamic State

According to Saudi-backed UK-based news agency Iran International, Iranian or Iran-affiliated Tasnim News Agency and Sabereen News appeared to have praised the killings. Iran international also pointed out that "The son of Iran's ex-ambassador to Australia" had posted about Hanukkah on X on 15 December 2015, even though his post made no mention of the attack. Afghanistan International criticized the Taliban for allegedly failing to condemn the ISIS attack, but noted that the rest of the Islamic world had, highlighting that officials in Iran, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates voiced strong disapproval of the attack.{{additional source needed|date=February 2026}

Speculation and accusations

Recognition of the state of Palestine

The Islamic State ideology explicitly opposes the concept of nation states, including the existence of a Palestinian state.

Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley and other Liberal-National coalition MPs criticised Australia's recognition of Palestine for being linked to the shooting, despite this being directly contrary to the goals of Islamic State – who aspire to be the only Islamic state and reject nation states as a concept – and of no interest to their local supporters.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Albanese government for "pouring fuel on this antisemitic fire" as a result of policies such as the recognition of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025. Albanese rejected the accusations, but later expressed his concern regarding some of the language used during pro-Palestine protests. Netanyahu has been pushing a "Hamas is ISIS" slogan since the 2014 Gaza war.

In an interview with Channel 4 News UK, former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull criticised Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for attributing the attack to Australian recognition of the State of Palestine, pointing out that the vast majority of nations recognise the state, and told "Bibi Netanyahu" to "stay out of our politics". Turnbull's remarks to Channel 4 UK were repeated in multiple other news sources.

False flag conspiracy theories

Islamic State (Daesh) state media criticised the false flag claims in their Al-Naba newspaper.

Iranian officials condemned the attack. Iran's Mehr News Agency called the attack a "false flag" and blamed Israel for it. IRGC military officer Mohammad Reza Naqdi and Iranian Armed Forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi were also quoted making false flag accusations. False flag conspiracy theories had broadly become more common over the past five years. The Israeli false flag rumours were also circulating on social media.

There were also false flag conspiracy theories about Iran and the Islamic State.

Documentaries

• Bondi: A Timeline of Terror – Sky News Australia announced that it will release its documentary of the event on 24 February 2026.
• Four Corners produced a two-part special on the attack. Part 1, Bondi: Light Over Darkness, aired on 2 February 2026. Part 2, Bondi: Path to Terror, was aired on 9 February, and investigated the secret lives of the terrorists, uncovering new information about the years leading up to the attack. The report was criticised by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation for focusing on a former ASIO informant as a source. The ABC stood by the report.

Misinformation

Following the attack, various pieces of misinformation were shared online. A website impersonating The Daily Aus, registered the same day as the shooting, launched an article purposely mislabelling bystander Ahmed al-Ahmed.

There were rumours on social media blaming Lebanese people and other Arabs, or claiming the shooters were Pakistani.

Additional posts online falsely claimed one of the alleged shooters had served in the IDF. Arsen Ostrovsky, a human rights attorney, survivor of the October 7 attacks, and employee of the Israeli think-tank Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, moved to Australia on 1 December, and became a victim of diverse online suspicion and even accusation after the shooting.

Jordanian fact checking website Misbar reported that a fabricated statement was circulating on social media. The social media posts contained a fabricated quote "welcoming" the attack, claiming it was from a statement issued by Hamas. Some posts contained the additional false claim that it was translated by Al Jazeera. Misbar found that no genuine statements issued by Hamas referred to the attack.

A fake AI-generated image was posted on the social media website X on 16 December 2025 by a Pakistan-based account going by the username of @RomiAlerts, with the caption claiming that Naveed Akram, one of the alleged assailants in the shooting, had travelled to Manila, Philippines on an Indian passport before the shooting, and met with Kant Kothari, the defence attaché of India, outside a Jollibee restaurant. The post was fact-checked and debunked as "fake news" by the Australian Associated Press and the Agence France-Presse.

A Pakistani man living in Australia was harassed and threatened online due to having an identical name to one of the attackers. Pakistani officials accused "hostile countries", in particular India, of spreading false claims that one of the two attackers was a Pakistani national, and further accused him of being from India.

Such claims, alongside others, were spread by xAI's chatbot, Grok. Al Jazeera noted social media posts from around the world claiming that Ahmed al-Ahmed, one of the bystanders who intervened, had a completely different name or that he was a Lebanese Maronite Christian or a Jew. Al-Ahmed was later confirmed to be a Muslim, and a naturalised citizen of Australia who had emigrated from Syria.

Various social media personalities and influencers circulated misinformation surrounding the attack. A false story was circulated that Australian Muslims launched fireworks to celebrate the attack.

See also

• 2024 Melbourne synagogue attack – an arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue, in a neighbouring state
• 2024 Wakeley church stabbing – stabbing of Bishop Mari Emmanuel and others at a church in Sydney
• Demographics of Sydney
• Doikayt – Yiddish word, used to advocate for Jewish liberation and safety in the diaspora
• List of massacres in Australia
• Adelaide Writers' Week boycott – after a Palestinian Australian author's scheduled appearance was cancelled
• List of Islamist terrorist attacks

Further reading

• Connaughton, Maddison (20 December 2025). "As Sydney's Jewish community reels from the Bondi attack, the path forward is unclear". ABC News.
• Australian Yiddish: "A Personal Definition of Doykayt (Bundist Tenant of "Hereness"): Living Demonstrably Jewishly". Yiddish Book Center. – a Jewish Australian explains the concept of "Hereness" in Yiddish
• "Prosecution of Naveed Akram". www.cdpp.gov.au. Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, Australian Government.

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.

Categories:

• 2020s in Sydney
• 2025 crimes in Australia
• 2025 in Judaism
• 2025 in Islam
• 2025 in New South Wales
• 2025 mass shootings in Oceania
• Islamic terrorist incidents in 2025
• Antisemitism in Australia
• Bondi Beach
• Mass shootings in New South Wales
• December 2025 crimes
• December 2025 in Australia
• Filmed killings
• History of Hanukkah
• Islam and antisemitism
• Mass shootings involving shotguns
• Massacres in 2025
• Massacres of Jews
• Terrorist incidents in Australia in the 2020s

END PART below Draft40

notes

I've still found nothing that warrants "Islamic terrorist attack", or uses it to refer to anything in Australia, or uses it to refer to ISIS. A lot of Muslims criticised al-Qaeda but the schism was much more severe with ISIS. I've found one source that uses "Islamic terrorism" to refer to a very broad category that includes "IS" and al-Qaeda. But it refers to "Islamic terrorism" overseas in contrast to far-right terrorism in Australia.

prop. 51

MOVED INTO TEXT

title

• Arbitrary exclusion of background information presented in reliable sources

sources

Sources about the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting:

— News in reliable sources from perennial sources list.

— News from sources that are not in the list.

— Australian academics writing about the 2025 Bondi shooting.

— Other commentary and opinion about the 2025 Bondi shooting.

Information about the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in sources about the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting:

— 51 people were killed.

— On 15 March 2019.

— in Christchurch, New Zealand.

— The accused was an Australian. far-right, white-nationalist, white-supremacist, anti-immigrant, terrorist.

— The attack targeted Muslims a mosque and an Islamic centre, broadly described as "Islamic institutions".

— The attack was the worst attack attributes to an Australian terrorist.

— The attack led to stricter gun laws in New Zealand

SKIP

• Was triggered by an ISIS attack in Sweden that killed a 12 year old.

The only thing there is a valid reason to specifically exclude is the name of the other accused terrorist, to reduce biographies of living persons problems and respect New Zealand's response of focusing on the victims instead of platforming the terrorist.

• Named

The Port Arthur massacre

• 35 killed.
• in 1996.

text that went with it

Long version

On 15 March 2019, an Australian white supremacist shot dead 51 people in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. News reports about the Bondi beach shooting from Singapore's The Straits Times and India's WION News pointed out that the this was the deadliest terror attack committed by an Australian. The Christchurch attack was also listed amongst other related events in news reports and commentary about the Bondi attack from Australia, Jordan, Turkey, and the Philippines. ——— the Australian sources are cited elsewhere in the paragraph ——— Starting eight hours after the attack.

An article in Overland, an Australian literary journal, referred to "the forgotten Muslim martyrs of the Christchurch massacre of 15 March 2019" alongside the Bondi victims and the victims of massacres of Indigenous Australians. In an article about the possible lone wolf radicalisation process behind the Bondi attack, The Sydney Morning Herald said the Christchurch attack had been partly motivated by the lthe death of a 12-year-old girl in a "Jihadi" attack in Sweden. The Sydney Morning Herald also interviewed a former politician from Christchurch about Islamophobia, antisemitism, and the possible benefits of a royal commission.

short version

2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, carried out by an Australian.

misc

Similar strict gun laws were later introduced in neighbouring New Zealand, also after a mass shooting.

Draft40 – Comparisons to Christchurch mosque shootings

Media, academics, and leaders from Australia and elsewhere in the Asia Pacific frequently compared the Bondi terror attack to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, in which another Australian shooter killed 51 people. In the first two days after the Bondi attack, news reports about Bondi from Australia, Singapore, India, and the Philippines mentioned the Christchurch attack. Singapore's The Straits Times pointed out that the Christchurch attack was the deadliest ever committed by an Australian terrorist. A week later, an article in Turkey's Daily Sabah called the Bondi attack a "heinous terrorist attack" and a "gruesome, glaring crime against humanity" then criticised Islamophobic aspects of Australia's reaction, presenting Islamophobia in Australia as a serious ongoing problem and giving the Christchurch attack as a key example. The Christchurch massacre was also raised in Overland, an Australian literary journal, in an article from 18 December 2025. The author of the Overland article referred to "the forgotten Muslim martyrs of the Christchurch massacre of 15 March 2019" alongside the Bondi victims and the victims of massacres of Indigenous Australians. The Sydney Morning Herald compared the attack to the Christchurch massacre in a 19 December 2025 article, mentioning that the Christchurch terrorist had been triggered by the death of a 12-year-old girl in a "Jihadi" attack in Sweden.

Ref

References

Further below Draft40

other sources

Long version. Short version.

Below Draft29

• Extra Background from Draft: 2025 January 29

The most deadly terrorist attacks committed by or against Australians have been outside of Australia. Mass casualty terror attacks are extremely rare within Australia. In addition to Port Arthur, the 11 September 2001 attacks on The Pentagon and New York also triggered an era of hyper-vigilance, which Australian war historians credit with being partly responsible for the lack of previous mass-casualty terrorism in Australia. However, this had the side effect of exacerbating racism and increasing Islamophobia, which erupted in a race riot at Cronulla Beach (near Bondi) in 2005. The Bondi attack triggered a wave of incitement to repeat the Cronulla riots. In August 2024, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation raised Australia's national terrorism threat level from "possible" to "probable", citing the risk of community tensions and political violence related to the Gaza war as one of the reasons for doing so.

The December 2025 massacre in Bondi was the first deadly antisemitic attack in Australian history.

On 8 November 2025, there was a neo-Nazi rally held by the National Socialist Network outside New South Wales Parliament in Sydney.

Islamic State

Not to be confused with Islamic Republic, Islamic state, or Islamic terrorism.

See also: § Islamic State media

The Islamic State movement self-describe as "Islamic" but their religious beliefs are an unusual derivative of Islam, that has been rejected by the vast majority of Muslims, including Islamic terrorists and Islamic extremists. Progressive and conservative Muslims alike describe the ideology of the Islamic State as "deviant". The Islamic State excommunicate other Muslims, calling them infidels or apostates.

Islamic State militants violently oppose – and are violently opposed by – many of the groups that are listed terrorist organisations in Australia's Criminal Code, Such as al-Qaeda, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), Hezbollah (listed since 2021), Hamas (listed since 2022), and Iran's IRGC (the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, listed in November 2025).

Some of their most deadly attacks have been against Shia Muslims, including civilian and military targets in Iran, a Shia-led Islamic Republic. Iran charges Islamic State militants with "waging war against God" (Moharebeh) and terrorism against civilians, among other crimes.

The ideology of the Islamic State rejects the concept of nation-states and cultural identity.

Followers of the Islamic State ideology, including in Sydney, have no interest in recognition of rival states. Symbols such as national flags are shuned by the movement. One violent manifestation of this opposition to nationalism is the active armed conflict between Islamic State's Khorasan "Province" (ISK) and the Taliban in Central Asia, whom ISK ridicule as "filthy nationalists".

Islamic State in Australia

See also: Islamic State and Australia

Prior to the Bondi attack, one of the most significant Islamic State-related problems faced by the Australian government were the family members of Islamic State fighters from Australia, who remain in detention camps in the Middle East. ASIO estimates that over 200 Australians migrated to the unrecognised state / Caliphate founded by the Islamic State movement while they controlled territory in Iraq and Syria. The survivors are mostly widows and children, most of the men died of the battlefield or were killed in targeted strikes. The are also a few remaining Islamic State fighters from Australia who have been confirmed alive or remain unaccounted for. The Australian Government have been criticised for treating the ongoing situation as somebody else's problem.

Australians in the Islamic State

Prior to the Bondi attack, one of the most significant Islamic State-related problems faced by the Australian government were the family members of Islamic State fighters from Australia, who remain in detention camps in the Middle East.

One of the most infamous ISIS fighters was an Australian man, named Khaled Sharrouf. An Australian man posed with the head of a decapitated Syrian soldier in ISIS propaganda.

Another prominent Australian ISIS member was Mohamed Elomar

Australian migrants to the Islamic State

See also: Islamic State and Australasia, Collaboration with the Islamic State, and War against the Islamic State

Prior to the Bondi attack, one of the most significant Islamic State-related problems faced by the Australian government were the family members of Islamic State fighters from Australia, who remain in detention camps in Kurdistan and neighbouring regions. ASIO estimates that over 200 Australians migrated to the unrecognised state / Caliphate founded by the Islamic State movement while they controlled territory in Iraq and Syria. The survivors are mostly widows and children, most of the men died of the battlefield or were killed in targeted strikes. Young boys who have been there nearly a decade are transferred to the menz prison when they reach military age. The are also a few remaining Islamic State fighters from Australia who have been confirmed alive or remain unaccounted for. The Australian Government have been criticised for treating the ongoing situation as somebody else's problem.

Further reading

• Website dedicated to the findings of the royal commission in New Zealand, suggested as a model for the enquiry into the Bondi attack: Attack, Christchurch (17 March 2025). "Executive summary". christchurchattack.royalcommission.nz. Government of New Zealand.

End Part Footnotes

Footnotes

05:11, 13 February 2026 (UTC)

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2026 February 06
Land Forces Expo protests in Southbank, Victoria
Date	9 October 2023 (2023-10-09) – present (2 years, 10 months, 3 weeks and 1 day)
Caused by	Gaza war
Methods	demonstrations, counter-protests, sit-ins, occupations, picketing, civil disobedience, direct action, online activism

Following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, pro-Palestinian protests were held in several Australian cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. Protests at the Sydney Opera House and Lakemba were criticised by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for alleged antisemitic rhetoric and violence.

Notable pro-Palestinian protests and campaigns have included weekly marches in Melbourne, Jewish peace activists occupying the electorate office of Defence Minister Richard Marles, blockades at the Port of Melbourne and Port Botany, the establishment of protest encampments at several Australian universities, the Melbourne Land Forces Expo protests, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge protest. Other notable protest actions have included Qantas flight crew donning Palestinian flag badges.

Pro-Israel counter-protests have also been held in Sydney and Melbourne.

Timeline of events

2023

October

Protest opposing the bombing of Gaza, Melbourne, Australia, 15 October

Pro-Palestinian protest in Sydney, Australia, 21 October

On the night of 9 October, around 1,000 protesters attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney, calling on the Australian government to end support to Israel. The protestors marched through the city's central business district to the Sydney Opera House, which had been lit up with the colors of the Israeli flag to create a space "for Jews to mourn victims of the attacks in Israel". A small group lit flares and burned Israeli flags.

The Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns, claimed that the Sydney Opera House had been "overrun with people that were spewing racial epithets and hatred". The government later apologised for the protests, with police confirming that they are investigating the participants and seeking to press charges. Jewish people were advised to avoid the area, and a man near the protest with an Israeli flag was detained to prevent a breach of the peace. Several witnesses claimed that they also chanted "Gas the Jews", although according to a police expert audio analysis of video from the event that was initially believed to have shown that call instead showed chants of "Where's the Jews".

Another similar rally took place in the south-western suburb of Lakemba. Reports of violence and antisemitism emerged from the protests, which were criticized by politicians including Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

On 11 October, thousands gathered for a vigil held in Sydney showing support for Israel which was attended by a number of government officials. On 20 October, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the entryway to the US spy base in Pine Gap, Northern Territory, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. On 31 October, a group of Jewish activists occupied Defence Minister Richard Marles' office in Geelong, demanding an end to military support for Israel.

November

On 8 November, activists laid themselves down on the Port of Melbourne to block cargo headed for Israel.

On 10 November, a fast food restaurant in Caulfield was burned down in a suspicious fire, after the owner Hash Tayeh was photographed leading a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne. Following the burning of the restaurant, about 200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators affiliated with the Free Palestine Melbourne group staged a protest march in Caulfield, which led to the evacuation of a nearby synagogue. The pro-Palestine march triggered a counter-demonstration by about 200 pro-Israel supporters from the local Jewish community. Police kept the two groups apart but made no arrests.

On 12 November, thousands attended pro-Palestinian rallies calling for an immediate ceasefire in several Australian state capitals including Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. In addition, pro-Israel rallies were held in Sydney and Melbourne calling for the release of Hamas-held hostages and to oppose anti-semitism. On 16 November, a petition with the signatures of 40,000 medical professionals demanding a ceasefire was presented to parliament. On 21 November, 23 anti-war activists were arrested at Sydney's Port Botany for blocking its major roads.

On 23 November, hundreds of school-age children in Melbourne and Adelaide walked out of classes in a school strike to "free, free Palestine". On 26 November, Senator Lidia Thorpe spoke at a rally in support of Palestine, stating Aboriginal Australians were sympathetic to the struggles of Palestinians. Teachers in Victoria were warned against participating in any pro-Palestine related protests. Protesters held a die-in outside the offices of The Age.

A group of several dozen pro-Palestinian protesters in Melbourne prevented a delegation of families of victims of the 7 October attacks from entering their hotel. In response, the delegation sought assistance at the local police station.

December

On 21 December, protesters on kayaks blocked an Israel-linked cargo ship from entering the Port of Melbourne.

In late December 2023, cabin crew on a Qantas flight between Melbourne and Hobart donned Palestinian flag badges; which went against the airline's policy of wearing unapproved badges on their uniforms. Dvir Abramovich, the chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, criticised the cabin crew's conduct as intimidating, harassment and a violation of "every rule of air travel". An online petition calling for the dismissal of the cabin crew attracted 2,000 signatures. In response to media coverage, Qantas reiterated its policy against employees wearing unapproved badges on their uniforms.

2024

January – March

Protesters blocked an Israeli cargo ship from entering the Port of Melbourne on 22 January 2024.

On 2 February, protesters in Melbourne blocked the entrance to the factory that produces parts for Israel's F-35 military jets.

"Gaza Solidarity Encampment" at the University of Sydney, 26 April 2024

April – June

On 25 April students of the University of Sydney put up tents and shouted pro-Palestine slogans. After that, multiple other Australian universities set up encampments. On 8 May, Greens senator Dorinda Cox alleged she was "manhandled" by police while protesting as part of Students for Palestine WA at the Crown Perth casino and resort, where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was speaking at a business breakfast, saying that the police told her group to move and allegedly shoved her into the crowd while she was speaking.

On 18 May, Trade Unionists for Palestine organised a protest at Melbourne's Moonee Valley Racecourse, which was hosting the Victorian Labor Party's State Conference. The protest action delayed planned speeches by Albanese and Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan.

On 19 May, Palestinian solidarity protesters and the Christian Zionist group International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) held competing rallies outside the Victorian state parliament in Melbourne. Police estimated that 7,000 people attended the Nakba Sunday Rally and ICEJ's Never Again is Now Rally. Police separated the two groups and arrested six protesters.

July – September

See also: § 2024 Melbourne Land Forces Expo protests

On 11 September, Melbourne saw protests outside the Land Forces Expo, a military technology event. Victoria Police claimed it was the largest deployment of police against a protest since 2000.

2025

See also: 2025 Sydney Harbour Bridge protest

On New Year's Eve, pro-Palestinian protest took place in Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD). During the demonstration, protesters entered a Starbucks café on Swanston Street, allegedly spitting at staff members and stealing merchandise.

In May 2025, thousands of people in the cities of Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane joined demonstrations to commemorate Nakba Day.

In June 2025, a picket at SEC Plating in Sydney saw multiple protesters injured by police. Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas was severely injured in the eye.

On 3 August, a large pro-Palestinian protest occurred on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and in Melbourne across the CBD and the King Street Bridge.

On 24 August, following Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalating his personal attacks on Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese over the government’s decision this month to recognise a Palestinian state, more than 40 pro-Palestinian rallies were held nationwide. Organisers claimed about 350,000 attendees (including ~50,000 in Brisbane), while police estimated Brisbane’s crowd at closer to 10,000; police gave no figures for Sydney or Melbourne.

Another series of nationwide protests were held on 12 October. Despite a ceasefire coming into effect two days earlier, the marches criticised the ongoing Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

2026

Further information: Australia–Israel relations § 2026 Israeli presidential visit to Australia

The 14 December 2025 Bondi Beach shooting was motivated by the Ideology of the Islamic State, and this was public knowledge within hours of the attack. The Islamic State movement (ISIS) and their sympathisers in Sydney have no interest in a Palestinian statehood, Their fundamentalist ideology completely rejects the concept of nation states, and they violently oppose nationalist groups such as Hamas and the Taliban, describing them and other nationalists as infidels or apostates. Despite this, Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing the propaganda narrative that "Hamas is ISIS" since 2014.

. . . . . . 

claims by some Israeli and Australian politicians, not directly linked to prior protests in Australia — led NSW Premier Chris Minns to propose new laws enabling police to refuse to authorise protests or mass gatherings, which passed New South Wales Parliament on 24 December 2025.

The attack also led to a highly controversial state visit from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, with the alleged intention of consoling the grieving Jewish community; Herzog had been invited by the Zionist Federation of Australia, and then prime minister Albanese elevated this to a state visit. In response to widespread objections, Albanese claimed that he also used the opportunity to speak to the president about issues such as the need for criminal prosecution of the Israel Defense Forces personnel who killed Zomi Frankcom, an Australian aid worker, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on the World Central Kitchen aid convoy in the Gaza Strip.

On 9 February 2026, Herzog arrived in Sydney. The same day, the NSW Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the new legal powers given to police to disrupt protesters. Protests against Herzog's visit were held in cities across the country; Herzog was viewed as a particularly contentious figure for his actions in late 2023, including attributing the October 7 attacks to "an entire nation", and handwriting a message on an artillery shell that was about to be dropped on Gaza. Protests in the area around Sydney Town Hall, which was within the declared exclusion zone, were met with a forceful response from police, including use of pepper spray, punching protesters, and forcibly removing a group of Muslim protesters while they were praying on the ground.

On 12 February, 5,000 pro-Palestine protesters marched through Melbourne's CBD to the Parliament of Victoria to protest against Herzog's visit. A smaller group of pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside an event hosting Herzog in Southbank, Victoria, where they faced counter-demonstrators from a pro-Israel group called "Lions of Zion." This group of pro-Palestine protesters rejoined the main group in the Melbourne CBD. Unlike the Sydney Town Hall protest, the Melbourne protest was peaceful with police only making one arrest.

Melbourne Land Forces Expo protests

The 2024 Land Forces protests, also known as Disrupt Land Forces, were a series of anti-war protests which took place from 8–13 September in Melbourne, Australia. Thousands of protesters occupied streets around the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, where the 2024 Land Forces exhibition was taking place with the support of the Australian federal government and the Victorian state government.

Disrupt Land Forces highlighted the links between Australian governments and the Israeli weapons industry, as part of ongoing opposition to Israel's attacks on Gaza. The Land Forces exhibition included weapons which have been deployed by Israel in Gaza. Protest organisers denounced the event as "a cabal of war practitioners and war profiteers".

The state government of Victoria deployed a large police contingent to defend Land Forces from protesters. According to Victoria Police, it was the largest single deployment of officers in the state since the S11 protests in 2000. 82 people were arrested in connection with the protests and over 150 were injured by police during the picket on 11 September.

Events

Starting from 8 September, there were daily actions before and during the Land Forces conference. These were organised by various groups, as part of the Disrupt Land Forces coalition.

7 September

On the afternoon of 7 September, a woman locked herself on to a car blocking the Montague St exit off the West Gate Freeway, blocking and delaying access to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Protesters were chanting the “usual slogans”, including "From the River to the Sea" but were namely protesting against the upcoming Land Forces Expo. The woman was cut free by police and arrested. A second woman, who was reportedly the designated police liaison person for the protest group, was also arrested for ‘aiding and abetting’ the woman protesting.

11 September

Between 4,000 and 5,000 protesters gathered from 6am for the first major demonstration, led by activist groups Students for Palestine and Disrupt Wars. Protestors blockaded entrances to the venue and disrupted attendees attempting to enter the weapons exhibition. Students for Palestine described the event as "a beautiful, defiant day of protest and disruption".

Over 1,600 police were deployed to protect the weapons exhibition. Victoria Police have been accused of a police riot by legal observers, with excessive force and weaponry including rubber bullets and flash grenades being used against unarmed protesters. At least 100 people were injured by police violence, including at least one journalist and a photographer who required surgery after being hit in the ear by a rubber bullet. In anticipation of the event, police were granted extended powers under the Terrorism Act. Police alleged afterward that they had rocks, eggs, rotten tomatoes and horse manure thrown at them.

By the afternoon, after the protesters had largely dispersed, police had barricaded the Spencer Street Bridge to all road traffic.

Victorian Greens MP Gabrielle De Vietri confirmed her attendance at the protest that morning. In response, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan suggested that De Vietri should resign from her position.

12 September

On the morning of the second day of the Land Forces expo, a group of protesters gathered and marched around the streets surrounding the exhibition centre, holding up peak hour morning traffic with police extending an exclusion zone outside the expo.

In the late afternoon, a large group of protesters gathered outside the Hanwha headquarters in the Melbourne CBD.

13 September

Australian Greens Senator David Shoebridge greeted a small number of protesters at the Spencer St Beidge, which was still barricaded by police while also speaking to media. He criticised Victoria Police’s excessive use of force.

Reactions

• Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese condemned protesters for "throwing things at police".
• Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police Shane Patton said of the protests “They come here to protest against war, so presumably anti-violence, and the only way I can describe them is a bunch of hypocrites. Their conduct today was absolutely appalling.”
• Victorian Greens Leader Ellen Sandell called for an inquiry into excessive force used by police.

Bisalloy Steel Protests

Starting 2023, protestors held a series of actions at Bisalloy Steel in Wollongong. These have included a sit-in and at least 9 pickets. Bisalloy Steel is Australia's only manufacturer of armour steel, which it exports to Israel. Protesters have alleged that this constitutes complicity in Israeli war crimes, while the company has emphasized the small proportion of its total business which goes to Israel. The pickets have shut down Bisalloy for up to 24 hours at a time.

An anti-Zionist Jewish protester was arrested for assault at an early sit-in action, though they were eventually found not guilty.

The protests have been attended by NSW Greens Senator David Shoebridge and MP Sue Higginson.

References

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Categories:

• Protests in Australia
• 2020s in Australia
• Gaza war protests by country
• 2024 in Australia