Shooters kill 11 people on Australian beach during Jewish festival

Images broadcast on social media show what appear to be at least two attackers dressed in black, as well as scenes of panic on the beach, one of the most touristy in the city, with people fleeing and several victims lying on the ground treated by paramedics. The police are still investigating the involvement of a third person. Improvised explosive devices were also located in a car parked near the scene of the attack, and were removed by the bomb squad. The car belongs to or was being used by one of the two shooters, according to New South Wales State Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon. The identity of the attackers has not yet been released.

Through a statement posted on social media, police in the state of New South Wales — where Sydney is located — asked people to avoid the area and advised those in the area to seek shelter, while officers and emergency services were sent to the area to assess the situation. “Police are on scene and more information will be provided as it becomes available,” officials said. The ambulance service said it was treating patients at the scene and transported around six people to nearby hospitals, without giving further details about the type of injuries treated.

Australian Prime Minister speaks of “vicious anti-Semitism”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese initially published a note in which he omitted the fact that the attack occurred during a Jewish festival; later, in a statement, he stated that “this is a direct attack on Australian Jews on a day of joy, in a celebration of faith”, and called the shooting “an act of vicious anti-Semitism, terrorism, which struck at the heart of our country”, according to the newspaper Sydney Morning Herald. Before Albanese, Commissioner Mal Lanyon had already treated the attack as “terrorist” and the Premier of the state of New South Wales, Chris Minns, stated that it was a “planned attack to target the Jewish community of Sydney, on the first day of Hanukkah” and that “it is the responsibility of every Australian to embrace the Australian Jewish community”.

The Australian government had already signaled in January that, since the start of the Israeli offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in response to the attack on October 7, 2023, violence against the Jewish community in Australia, which represents 0.4% of a population of more than 26 million people, had increased.

Israeli authorities denounce growth of anti-Semitism

Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned Sunday’s attack and urged the Australian government to combat anti-Semitism. “At this very moment, our brothers and sisters in Sydney, Australia, were attacked by vile terrorists in a bloody attack against Jews who went to light the first Hanukkah candle on Bondi Beach. We reiterate our warning once again to the Australian government to take action and fight against the huge wave of anti-Semitism that is plaguing Australian society”, denounced Herzog at an event at his residence in Jerusalem.

In the same vein, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, declared himself “appalled” by the attack and, in turn, linked it to the increase in anti-Semitic incitement in Australia. “These are the results of the anti-Semitic wave on the streets over the past two years, with inciting calls like ‘globalizing the Intifada’,” he wrote in a statement on social media site X, where he urged the Australian government to “get real.” Saar accompanied his message with a photograph, supposedly taken at the scene, showing a man holding a tallit, the Jewish prayer cloak, stained with blood.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was shocked by the attack and sent condolences to the victims’ families in a post on X. “Europe stands united with Australia and the Jewish community around the world. We stand united against violence, anti-Semitism and hatred.”