Zaka teams at the scene of the massacre in Sydney: “mirrors reminiscent of the Nova”

Today (Tuesday) ZAKA teams entered the scene of the attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia for the first time – about two days after the terrorist incident in which 16 people were murdered during the Hanukkah celebration. According to sources in the field, some of the bodies were still found at the scene about 48 hours after the massacre, after the Australian police defined the place as an “active scene”. This is because one of the terrorists is detained in the hospital and the initial investigation has not yet been completed. The families of the victims have not been allowed to enter and identify their loved ones either.

The ZAKA delegation, led by a veteran of the organization Yossi Landau, alongside the volunteers of the international unit and the commander of the international unit Nachman Dickstein, waited for many hours for official entry approval.mako health. “We ran between different authorities – one commander approves, the other cancels. It wasn’t until ten at night that we finally got permission to enter.”

According to him, the approval was obtained after the intervention of elements from the local Christian community, who are known to Zaka activists. Without this help, we would have stayed outside for a long time.”

When the ZAKA people finally entered the arena, the sight was particularly difficult. “The first thing we saw was blood,” Dickstein describes. “Wherever you step – blood. The grass is red, the asphalt is red, the water bottles that people were holding are still there. Everything seems as if time has stopped.”

Shortly after their entry, the teams were allowed to go to only two scenes – including the one where the rabbi who is supposed to be buried tomorrow was murdered. “He went through several places until he passed away,” says Dickstein. “We had to collect all the findings from wherever he was, in order to bury him with dignity.”

The collection work began immediately. “We clean, wash, mark and collect every drop of blood,” he describes. “We found a child’s tefillin, we found a hat, we found a shoe that a woman lost while running away – redeemed by blood. For the family, this is a whole world.”

Amidst the chaos at the scene, the ZAKA members found themselves surrounded by residents who experienced the event up close. One of them is Manadi Amzlag, a resident of Sydney who was present at the scene and even documented the moments of the takeover of the two terrorists.

“My wife’s grandfather was murdered in the attack,” Amzlag toldmako health. During the long minutes after the shooting he went from person to person trying to save lives. “I performed a lot of CPR, I ran among the wounded. It was a terrible scene – total chaos. People were lying on the floor, screaming, shooting, and you just do everything you can.”

Amzlag added that his family was also directly affected by the incident: “When the shooting started, we ran away from the bullets, and my wife fell while running. She was taken to the hospital. She is in advanced pregnancy and is due to give birth soon, with God’s help.”

The delegation is headed by Yossi Landau, KAMBZ Zaka Merhav Lakish, alongside volunteers from the organization’s international unit. Most of them previously operated in severe terrorist arenas in Israel, including in the events of October 7.

“The mirrors bring me back to the mirrors in the Otaf kibbutz,” Landau tellsmako health. “We already landed on Monday morning, but when we entered the arena we saw a terrible sight – silent testimony to a life cut short by brutality. The harsh sights and the strong smell immediately bring back the difficult events of Black Sabbath. It is the same evil and the same pain. We acted with holy fear to collect and gather all the findings and the blood left at the arena, so that not a single drop of blood is left behind. This is our moral and Jewish duty.”

“You have to understand, this is not an ordinary attack,” says Simcha Greiman, a ZAKA volunteer and part of the international delegation. “This is an event in which hundreds and thousands of revelers participated. People came to celebrate Hanukkah and found themselves running away and hiding for fear of being slaughtered. For long minutes the shooters shot everywhere and the anarchy was complete – like in Nova. You can see the stress and panic in the objects that the people left in the arena – articles of clothing, personal belongings. Here, too, the entire area was full of blood, finds and items of clothing, and we collected everything and started cleaning the arenas.”

According to the staff members, even though the arena is geographically far from Israel, the nature of the work is well known to them. The harsh sights and the fact that this is a serious attack on a Jewish community bring up for some of them memories of previous terror sites where they operated.

Tomorrow at first light, the teams are expected to return to the scene and continue the work of collecting and cleaning, with the aim of bringing every drop of blood and every find to the Tomb of Israel.