On target: ISIS congratulates the attack in Sydney

The ISIS terrorist organization publicly praised the anti-Semitic massacre at Sydney’s Bondi Beach and called for “lone wolf” attacks around the world, according to a new issue of the organization’s official propaganda magazine, Al-Naba. The publication is causing growing concern among international security officials, especially in Europe, where intelligence services warn of Islamist terrorist infrastructures embedded within “multicultural” civilian networks. This warning joins the publication of the National Security Headquarters last week on instructions for Israelis staying abroad, warning against possible copycat attacks.

On December 18, ISIS published the 526th issue of al-Naba, the organization’s main propaganda publication. The editorial, titled “Sydney Pride,” openly praised the anti-Semitic attack on Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on December 14. The attack, carried out by Navid Akram and his father Sajid Akram, claimed the lives of 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, and injured dozens more. Australian authorities officially declared the incident a terrorist attack, one of the deadliest the country has known in decades.

In the editorial, ISIS described the terrorists as “heroes” and “lions”, and presented the massacre as a religiously justified act, which is in line with what the organization calls the “prophetic methodology”. Although ISIS has not accepted official operational responsibility for the attack, the wording leaves no doubt as to the organization’s ideological identification with the act. The article emphasized that the outcome is more important than formal affiliation, a message consistent with ISIS’s strategy of encouraging decentralized terrorism by individuals who have been radicalized online.

Among the most difficult sections of the publication it is claimed that Jews are “bleeding in the streets of Australia”, and that the Hanukkah celebration “has turned into a funeral”. Jewish religious events, including synagogues, festivals and community gatherings, were explicitly presented as legitimate targets for violence and future attacks.

Terrorism experts have been warning for years that such discourse reflects the genocidal nature of ISIS ideology, where anti-Semitism is not a by-product but a central theological foundation. The article presented the Bondi Beach attack as proof that people influenced by jihadist propaganda can strike at the heart of Western countries, a pattern previously documented by bodies such as Europol, the Australian intelligence organization ASIO and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.

ISIS’s publication was not content with praising the attack, and it also included an explicit call to Muslim refugees in Belgium to carry out similar attacks. This while calling for the abandonment of asylum and immigration frameworks and preferring direct violent action, with the aim of “fighting Jews and Christians in every street”. Belgium, which has a significant immigrant population, has been marked as a potential point of friction for future attacks, a concern that is consistent with repeated warnings from European security authorities regarding the exploitation of migration routes and distribution networks by extremist elements.

Another central theme in the article was the promotion of “lone wolf” terrorism. In the words written, ISIS mocks the intelligence services in the West and claims that the modern jihad no longer needs hierarchical structures or complex financing networks. According to the organization, one person who has been ideologically radicalized online is enough to commit mass murder, and the Sydney massacre was presented as proof of this.

ISIS’s incitement comes amid broader warnings about the growing Islamist threat within Europe itself. Intelligence officials on the continent warn that conflicts in the Middle East, and in particular the war between Hamas and Israel, have practically spilled over into European territory. In November 2025, the Mossad organization revealed that it had helped European countries uncover terrorist infrastructures of Hamas “in the heart of Europe”, including weapons depots and plans to attack Jewish and Israeli targets. Already in December 2023, Hamas operatives accused of preparing attacks against Jewish institutions were arrested in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Europol’s Terrorism Report for 2025 notes that conflicts outside Europe’s borders, including in Gaza, have changed the threat picture within the European Union and increased radicalization, propaganda and operational planning. Investigations have revealed that Hamas, Hezbollah and elements associated with Iran operate through associations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), student groups and lobby platforms, sometimes under the guise of “civil society” or “human rights”.

Campuses in Europe have become a major concern. Reports indicate a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents since 2023, at the same time as organized student activity that adopts narratives identified with Hamas. The security services warn that while legitimate civil protest does exist, extremist elements take advantage of these spaces for recruitment, propaganda and logistical support. Enforcement officials point out that slogans like “make the intifada global” are not a call for peace, but rather a call for the expansion of violence, even if the political discourse is careful not to define it that way in public.

Following the massacre in Sydney and the incitement of ISIS, Israel’s National Security Council issued a renewed warning to Israelis staying abroad, emphasizing the danger of copycat attacks inspired by events with international resonance.

The recommendations include avoiding Jewish or Israeli public events that are not secure, including synagogues, Chabad houses and other religious events. Also, it is recommended that Israelis show increased vigilance near Jewish and Israeli centers and immediately report to the local security forces any suspicious entity or object. Also, the MLA called on Israelis to regularly update the instructions on the official website, and emphasizes that vigilance and awareness are an essential element in dealing with a global threat Characterized by online radicalization and decentralized terrorism.

At the same time, security officials emphasize that the threat posed by this type of jihadist incitement is not directed solely at Israelis or Jews, and is not limited to a particular country or continent. The patterns of action promoted by organizations such as ISIS, led by distributed “lone wolf” terrorism, are based on harming citizens wherever they may be, in public spaces, community events and civilian centers that are not necessarily identified in advance with a specific national target. This means that the risk exists everywhere in the world, and especially in open countries where there is freedom of movement, public events and accessibility to wide civic spaces, especially in popular tourist sites where crowds tend to gather.