“I saw at least 10 people lying on the ground and there was blood everywhere,” a witness to the shooting told the Sydney Morning Herald.
On Sunday, during Hanukkah celebrations on Bondi Beach in Sydney, there was a tragic attack in which 10 people lost their lives, including one of the two attackers. At least 18 people were injured, including two police officers.
Australian police reported a risk of explosion at the site of the incident. Explosives specialists are working to neutralize an improvised device that was found near the site of the attack.
The attack took place when members of the Jewish community in Australia gathered on Bondi Beach to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.
Videos circulating on X appeared to show people on Bondi Beach scattering as gunshots and police sirens rang out. Another video shows two men pressed to the ground by uniformed policemen.
“We are aware of an ongoing incident in the Bondi area. We urge people in the vicinity to follow information provided by the police” – said an unnamed spokesman for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The New South Wales State Ambulance Service said more than 25 emergency services, including medical teams, ambulances, helicopters and special units, were dispatched to the scene on Bondi Beach.
Israeli President Yitzhak Hercog said that Australian Jews were attacked by terrorists while lighting a Hanukkah candle on the beach.
Israel speaks out
Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar, in his statement, he drew attention to previous warning signs, which he stressed could have been ignored by the Australian authorities. Saar also referred to the growing wave of anti-Semitism in Australia, pointing out that “anti-Semitic attacks and inflammatory slogans such as 'globalization of the intifada' contributed to this tragedy.”
Israeli President Yitzhak Hercog appealed to the Australian government to take decisive action in the fight against anti-Semitism. “Anti-Semitism plagues Australian society,” he said, calling for a response to the “massive wave of hatred.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded to the events by calling an emergency meeting of the National Security Council. His official statement on this matter is planned in the near future.
