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At Least 15 Killed, 40 Wounded As Gunmen Target Jews At Sydney’s Bondi Beach In Australia

Pictured Above: Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Photo Credit: AP Photo/Mark Baker.

A pair of gunmen killed at least fifteen (15) people and hospitalized at least forty (40) during a Hanukkah event today (Sunday 14th December, 2025) on Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia, in what officials called a terrorist attack on Australia’s Jewish community. One (1) suspect was also killed and the other is in critical condition. As of Sunday night, authorities had not formally identified the alleged perpetrators.

The wounded people were taken to Hospitals in a range of conditions, according to Police, including two (2) Officers. It was the country’s worst mass shooting in nearly thirty (30) years. 

“This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah,” said Chris Minns, the Premier of New South Wales State, which includes Sydney. “What should have been a night of peace and joy celebrated in that community with families and supporters has been shattered.” The event that officials said was targeted, Chanukah by the Sea, advertised a giant menorah lighting, free doughnuts, holiday crafts and grab-and-go menorah kits.


(Click/Tap Image To Enlarge)

According to reports, Police began receiving alerts of shots fired around 6:47 PM local time on Sunday, at a park where more than 1,000 people had gathered to attend a Hanukkah festival, said Mal Lanyon, the Police Commissioner for New South Wales, who declared the attack a terrorist incident.

Two (2) men dressed in black could be seen firing guns from a pedestrian bridge in a video posted on social media by the Australian Jewish Association. 



Another video shown by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, showed an apparent bystander run up to a gunman and wrestle the firearm from him.

The footage shows the bystander sneak up on the shooter as he is firing on victims off-screen. The man then tackled the shooter and wrenched the gun away from him. He then turned the weapon on the shooter, but did not fire.

The hero has been identified by Australian media as 43-year-old Ahmed al-Ahmad, a father of two (2) young daughters (ages 3 and 6), and a son of refugees. The man's cousin, Mustafa al-Ahmad, told Australia's News 7 that Ahmed was shot once in the arm and once in the shoulder. The injuries came when the second gunman fired on Ahmed after he tackled the first man.

“He's a hero. One hundred percent a hero. Once we saw on social media, he's one hundred percent a hero," Mustafa told the outlet.

Ahmed is currently in surgery and is expected to make a full recovery, according to Australian media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the man as “brave” in a statement regarding the shooting. Netanyahu had initially stated that the man who intervened was a Jew, but that was before al-Ahmad was identified. “We saw an action of a brave man — turns out a Muslim brave man, and I salute him – that stopped one of these terrorists from killing innocent Jews,” Netanyahu said.

Chris Minns, the Premier of Australia's New South Wales State, also hailed al-Ahmad as a hero. “That man is a genuine hero, and I've got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery,” Minns said in a statement.

Mike Burgess, who leads Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, said one of the shooters in Sunday’s attack was known to the agency, but had not been considered an immediate threat.

Police said they located a vehicle near the attack site that authorities believe held several improvised explosive devices. Authorities were also looking at whether there was a third offender. A bomb-disposal unit was still on the scene as of Sunday night, Police said.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that an Israeli citizen was among those killed in the attack, and that another had been injured.

Australian authorities have confirmed the attack targeted the Jewish community, which was celebrating the first day of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach.

A man interviewed in a bloodstained shirt on Australia’s Sky News said that his friend had been shot in the chest and in the arms, and that he did not know how his friend was doing. “I could see the one guy on the bridge with a shotgun,” the man said. “He was literally taking potshots. So it wasn’t indiscriminate. He was targeting.”

Investigations are continuing into the horrific incident.

More on this as it becomes available.

This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

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