At least 12 people died and 29 were injured this Sunday during a shooting on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. The incident was declared a “terrorist attack” by the local government.
The attack occurred around 6:47 p.m. local time in Archer Park, next to said beach, where around a thousand people gathered to celebrate the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, reports EFE.
Two people began to deliberately shoot at the attendees. The premier of the state of New South Wales, Chris Minns, said at a press conference that they believe the event was “deliberately targeting the Sydney Jewish community.”
Minns also stated that one of the attackers was killed at the scene and the other was wounded and is reported to be in critical condition. He added that they are investigating the participation of a third author.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 14, 2025
An improvised explosive device was found in the deceased attacker’s vehicle, which reaffirmed the terrorist nature of the event, according to the New South Wales Police Commissioner, Mal Lanyon, stated in said appearance.
“Shocking and distressing” images
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a brief statement on his X profile in which he called the scenes in Bondi “shocking and distressing” and urged people to follow information from local police.
Videos shared by attendees, and replicated by press media such as The World, They show both shooters attacking those present, creating a climate of terror from which hundreds of people who were on Bondi beach fled in terror.
The newspaper itself broadcast the video showing a pedestrian confronting and disarming one of the attackers. “That man is a true hero and I have no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight thanks to his bravery,” Mins said about it.
Rising anti-Semitism in Australia
“This attack was designed to hit Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah. What was supposed to be a night of peace and celebration was destroyed by an evil and horrendous attack,” Minns was quoted as saying. EFE.
Hanukkah, also known as the “Feast of Lights,” is a holiday that represents the determination of the Jewish people to preserve their religion and the right to practice it.
The celebration, which traditionally spans eight days, was convened by the Australian-Jewish community centre, Chabad of Bondi, and was billed as “the perfect family event to celebrate light, warmth and community”.
The attack has raised complaints from the Australian Jewish Association about the increase in anti-Semitism in that country.
Through its social networks the Australian Jewish Association denounced: “we warned many times that this was going to happen. We never felt that the Government took the warnings seriously.”
“Facing this horrific act of anti-Semitic violence during the Jewish holiday of light and hope is heartbreaking,” said a statement issued by the Jewish Council of Australia.
cnn reports that Israeli President Isaac Herzog said at a public meeting that “we have repeatedly warned the Australian Government of the urgent need to eradicate criminal and expanding anti-Semitism in Australia.”
While Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a post on
I’m appalled by the murderous shooting attack at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia.
These are the results of the anti-Semitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the anti-Semitic and inciting calls of “Globalise the Intifada” that were realized… pic.twitter.com/ZMveTRIvwx— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) December 14, 2025
Mass violence in Australia
These types of events are not common in Australia, which since 1996 has maintained strict laws on weapons, which, although they do not prohibit possession, do carry out exhaustive controls for their purchase.
The nation took these measures after 35 people died in an attack in Port Arthur carried out by a single person.
“According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, 31 homicides with firearms were recorded in Australia between 2023 and 2024, the most recent figures,” cites cnn.
In April 2024, Australia reported its last mass attack, but with a knife, when a man murdered six people in the Westfield shopping center in Bondi Junction in Sydney.
