Ceremony in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack in Sydney: the Australian Prime Minister was greeted with shouts of “Shame!”

Authorities called on residents to light memorial candles at 6:47 p.m. when terrorists opened fire on participants in the first memorial candle lighting ceremony. The event was called “Light conquers darkness.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: by doing so, Australians will make it clear that they reject violence and hatred.

However, when Albanisi himself arrived at Bondai Beach, where the memorial ceremony took place, he was greeted with cries of “Shame!” and indignant exclamations, accusing him of aiding jihadists. Many in Australia are convinced that the attack was the result of a policy of connivance towards Islamic extremists.

Before this, the Australian Prime Minister said that the government would conduct a review of the work of federal law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies. It is entrusted to be headed by Dennis Richardson, the former head of ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organization).

Albanese said the review aims to determine whether federal police and intelligence agencies have the “appropriate powers, structure, procedures and information-sharing mechanisms” to keep Australians safe.

Albanizi called the incident “an atrocity inspired by the Islamic State.” His announcement of the review comes amid calls from a number of Australian politicians and public figures for a wider investigation.

Hanukkah terrorist attack in Sydney

On Sunday, December 14, a terrorist attack took place at the site of a mass Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Two terrorists armed with long-barreled rifles opened fire on the people.

At least 15 people were killed and more than 40 were injured. One of the terrorists was shot dead, the other was seriously wounded.

NAMES OF THE VICTIMS OF THE TERROR ATTACK

Matilda Bee Britvan (Poltavchenko) (10 years). Her family is from Odessa (Ukraine), but Matilda was born in Australia, where her family moved more than ten years ago.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger (41 years old) from the Chabad movement, one of the organizers of the holiday.

Alexander (Alex) Kleitman (87 years old), a Holocaust survivor, immigrated to Australia from Ukraine, shielding his wife Larisa from bullets.

Dan Elkayyam (27 years old) is a French citizen who recently immigrated to Australia. Football player.

Rabbi Yaakov A-Levi Levitan (39 years old) – envoy of the Chabad movement, secretary of the rabbinical court in Sydney, served at the BINA educational center.

Reuven Morrison (62 years old) – a native of the former USSR, a businessman who immigrated to Australia in the 70s, an active member of the Jewish communities of Sydney and Melbourne. He openly confronted one of the terrorists, giving time for the others to take cover.

Peter (“Marco”) Meagher (61 years old), photographer, former police officer.

Tibor Weizen (78 years old), died covering his wife. Immigrated to Australia from Israel in 1988.

Marika Pogan (82 years old) – grandmother and social activist, sat in the front row during the Hanukkah celebration. Immigrated to Australia from Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Edith Brutman (age 82) – Vice-President of the Anti-Prejudice and Discrimination Committee of B’nai B’rith in New South Wales.

Boris Gurman (69 years old)

Sophia Gurman (61 years old), wife of Boris. They were married for 34 years. They died trying to prevent the execution.

Boris Tetelreuth (68 years old), immigrant from the former USSR, from Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Worked as an application development and implementation analyst for Sydney Trains.

Adam Smith (50 years old).

Tanya Tretiak (68 years old).

North Bondi residents Boris and Sophia Gurman tried to stop one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Australian history before the first shot was fired. Boris disarmed one of the terrorists, but in the end he and his wife were shot dead. Reuven Morrison threw stones at the terrorist, diverting attention to himself and saving others, he was killed.

Trader Ahmed al-Ahmed managed to snatch the weapon from the senior terrorist, but did not neutralize him. Was wounded.

30-year-old Israeli Gefen Biton also tried to stop the terrorists, but was seriously wounded.

Information about the wounded

Dozens of people were injured as a result of the terrorist attack. 42 wounded, including four children, were taken to hospitals.

Dozens of wounded are still in hospitals. Of these, six are in critical condition, another six are in “critical but stable” condition, and the rest are in stable condition. Three children were among the seriously wounded.

Police confirm two law enforcement officers were injured.

Among the wounded, Arsen Ostrovsky is a lawyer who survived the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, writes News.com.au. Social networks also note that Arsen is the chairman of the Jewish Council of Israel-Australia. He arrived in Sydney a few weeks ago.

Information about terrorists

The attack was carried out by father and son – Sajid Akram (50) and Naveed Akram (24).

Sajid Akram was shot dead by police. Navid is seriously wounded and taken to the hospital under guard.

The father, Sajid Akram, had held a firearms license since 2015 and owned six firearms. This information has been officially confirmed by the police, who say they have “very little” information about the family.

At least three of the six firearms were used in the attack (including a shotgun and a bolt-action rifle). According to experts who examined the video footage, the guns were two Stoeger M3000 M3K sporting shotguns and a Beretta BRX1 rifle.

Akram’s father and son drove up to the scene of the terrorist attack in a car, in which the police later found an improvised explosive device. It was rendered harmless.

According to investigators, Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram were in the Philippines for a month shortly before the attack. There is reason to believe that they were preparing for a terrorist attack there. It became known that Sajid Akram arrived in the Philippines on an Indian passport, Naveed Akram on an Australian passport.

The Australian Home Office advises: Sajid Akram arrived in the country in 1998 on a student visa, three years later received a partner visa, and after traveling abroad he returned to Australia three times on a residence visa. Naveed Akram was born in Australia and has Australian citizenship.

Naveed Akram first came to the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) in October 2019. Was interrogated. However, no charges were brought against him.

Military training of terrorists in the Philippines

Two terrorists who carried out a mass shooting during Hanukkah celebrations at Sydney’s Bondi Beach had traveled to the Philippines for “military training” a month before the attack.

The Australian media, citing sources in law enforcement agencies, reported this fact on December 14, the day of the terrorist attack. ABC.net.au, citing a senior Australian counter-terrorism source, publishes additional details.

According to this source, Naveed Akram (24 years old) and his father Sajid Akram (50 years old) flew to Manila in early November 2025, and then went to the southern Philippines, where they received “military-type” combat training, after which they returned to Australia in late November, two weeks before the attack.

Philippine immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval told AFP: Sajid Akram entered the country as an Indian citizen, Naveed Akram as an Australian citizen; they named the southern province of Davao as their final destination; they were in the Philippines from November 1 to November 28.

ABC recalls that the south of the Philippines has been one of the key centers of activity of Islamist groups since the early 1990s, where training camps that previously operated on the Pakistan-Afghan border were moved.

Australian intelligence agencies are now checking possible connections of terrorists with an international jihadist network. It was previously reported that Naveed Akram was associated with a preacher who supported the Islamic State and was convicted of recruiting youth. According to media reports, two ISIS flags were found in the terrorists’ car, among other things.

Australia’s intelligence agency ASIO investigated Naveed Akram in 2019 for links to an IS cell in Sydney, but after a six-month investigation it concluded there was no reason to consider him an “immediate threat” and ended surveillance.

Home Secretary Tony Burke now speaks of a “radical change in the risk profile” of the suspect, while authorities are simultaneously conducting a public examination of how the Akrams were able to travel to and return from the Philippines while remaining off terrorist watch lists, and legally obtain the weapons used in the attack, which, according to the ABC at the time of publication, killed 15 people. Let us recall that Sajid Akram legally owned six firearms.