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What we know about the victims
So far, very little information has come out about the identities of those killed and injured in the Bondi beach attack.
We know that 11 people were killed, and one of the gunmen is also dead. A second gunman is injured and in hospital, as are 29 victims, among them two police officers who were wounded while responding to the attack.
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London-born rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, has been named as one of the victims, Jewish News reports. The father-of-five, who was assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi, a Jewish cultural centre, grew up in Temple Fortune, north London. His first cousin, Brighton-based Rabbi Zalman Lewis, told Jewish News: “How can a joyful rabbi who went to a beach to spread happiness and light, to make the world a better place, have his life ended in this way?”
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One Israeli citizen was among those killed, the Israeli foreign ministry said. It did not name the victim.
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The Jerusalem Post reported that one of its contributors, Arsen Ostrovsky, head of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council Sydney office, was wounded in the attack.
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Ben Doherty
The Guardian’s Ben Doherty reports from Bondi beach:
The killing went on so long, those fleeing had time to scream “they’re re-loading” as they scrambled for any place of safety they could find.
Those who could not were pitilessly gunned down.
“I saw children being targeted,” one man, who declined to give his name, told the Guardian. “I saw old people who couldn’t move being shot. It was a massacre. There was blood everywhere.
“It’s unbelievable. This doesn’t happen here. Not here.”
At least twelve people were killed, and nearly 30 were in hospital following a mass shooting at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, a terrorist attack described by the prime minister as “an act of evil antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of this nation”.
Australian leaders and police have been swift to label the shooting an antisemitic terrorist attack.
“This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community,” said New South Wales state premier Chris Minns.
“On the first day of Hanukkah, what should have been a night of peace and joy celebrated in that community with families and supporters, has been shattered by this horrifying evil attack.”
“Our heart bleeds for Australia’s Jewish community tonight. I can only imagine the pain that they’re feeling right now to see their loved ones killed as they celebrate this ancient holiday.”
What we know about the victims
So far, very little information has come out about the identities of those killed and injured in the Bondi beach attack.
We know that 11 people were killed, and one of the gunmen is also dead. A second gunman is injured and in hospital, as are 29 victims, among them two police officers who were wounded while responding to the attack.
-
London-born rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, has been named as one of the victims, Jewish News reports. The father-of-five, who was assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi, a Jewish cultural centre, grew up in Temple Fortune, north London. His first cousin, Brighton-based Rabbi Zalman Lewis, told Jewish News: “How can a joyful rabbi who went to a beach to spread happiness and light, to make the world a better place, have his life ended in this way?”
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One Israeli citizen was among those killed, the Israeli foreign ministry said. It did not name the victim.
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The Jerusalem Post reported that one of its contributors, Arsen Ostrovsky, head of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council Sydney office, was wounded in the attack.
Opening summary
Throughout the night, Australians have been grieving a shocking attack on Jewish Australians on the country’s iconic Bondi beach.
Communities are still reeling. “This senseless attack is one which is an actor of terror,” prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday night. “My message to Jewish Australians is that your fellow Australians stand with you tonight in condemning this act of terror.”
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At least 11 people were killed and almost 30 wounded when gunmen fired on a Hanukah celebration on Bondi beach on Sunday, in what Australian police and officials described as a terrorist attack. One of the gunmen also died.
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London-born rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, has been named as one of the victims of the Bondi beach terrorist attack. Jewish News reports that the father-of-five, who was assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi, a Jewish cultural centre, grew up in Temple Fortune, north London, and had family members of Kinloss synagogue in Finchley.
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One Israeli citizen was also among those killed, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
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A number of “suspicious devices” have been found in the aftermath of the shooting where hundreds of people had gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event to celebrate the start of the Jewish festival on Sunday.
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A man who rushed to the scene to tackle one of the gunmen has two bullet wounds, one in his arm and one in his hand, but is recovering well in hospital, his relative said. Seven News reported the bystander was a 43-year-old fruit shop owner from the Sutherland Shire.
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British police will put more officers into Jewish communities after an antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi beach in Australia. Hanukah, the Jewish festival of lights also known as Chanukah, begins on Sunday evening, with celebrations planned across the UK in the coming days.
