Israel’s Foreign Ministry says an Israeli citizen was killed and another injured in the deadly shooting in Sydney, Australia. 15 lives were taken during the first night of Hanukkah celebration on the beach. Two men, a father and son duo ages 50 and 24, opened fire from above on a nearby pedestrian bridge, causing immediate panic, with people taking cover and fleeing into the water. Witnesses described the scene as “horrific” and an “absolute bloodbath.” The event, named “Hanukkah By The Sea” drew over 1,000 spectators. The terrorists killed 15 and wounded more than 40, with more than a dozen injured critically. Some of the people injured include an October 7 survivor, Arsen Ostrovsky, who recently moved from Israel to Australia, is a well known human rights lawyer and director of the Jewish Affairs Council in Sydney, and Evan Zlatkis, director of media at the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
The Chabad emissary, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was murdered, along with Dan Elkayam, a young French Jewish man. Another chabad rabbi Rabbi Yaakov Levitan was killed. He was the secretary of the Sydney Beit Din, — or Rabbinical court in English . Alexander Kleytman, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor and new immigrant to Australia was killed. A 10-year-old girl named Matilda Britvan was killed as well. The names and stories are still rolling out. The situation has been classified as a terrorist attack against Jews. It’s one of the largest attacks against jews outside of Israel in years. And the largest terror attack in Australia in some three decades.
People went from enjoying the beach and the hanukkah event to running for cover, hiding under picnic tables, and fleeing into the water.
Witnesses say they heard repeated gunshots and screams as families, children, and elderly attendees tried to escape. Many laid down on the ground for safety. Authorities later recovered evidence that at least one of the suspects had improvised explosive devices in a vehicle near the scene, which were later defused.
What happened?
The Hanukkah event called Chanukah by the Sea when two attackers suddenly opened fire from a raised position near a pedestrian bridge above the celebration. They fired repeatedly into the crowd, creating immediate panic with people running for cover, hiding under picnic tables, or fleeing into the water.
Witnesses say they heard repeated gunshots and screams as families, children, and elderly attendees tried to escape. Authorities later recovered evidence that at least one of the suspects had improvised explosive devices in a vehicle near the scene, which were later defused.
Amid the chaos, a bystander — later identified by family as Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old Sydney fruit shop owner and father of two — rushed toward one shooter, wrapping his arms around him from behind, wrestled away his rifle, and disarmed him. A Sydney fruit shop owner and father of two, Ahmed was shot in the process and is hospitalized. He needs surgeries for the two gunshot wounds in the hand and arm.
Officials and leaders widely credit his actions with preventing even greater loss of life.
The older gunman was killed by police gunfire, while the second was critically wounded and taken into custody.
Senior Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused the Australian government of sidelining their warnings. Albanese condemned the attack and stated that “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.”
The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies issued an unprecedented recommendation that all Jewish institutions across the Sydney area close immediately following Sunday’s terror attack. Citing the evolving security situation, the board announced that synagogues, early learning centers, kosher restaurants, and all communal institutions should remain closed until further notice.
Board President David Ossip urged community members to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity or security concerns directly to authorities.
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