AUSTRALIAN authorities say the deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which killed at least 15 people and injured 27 others, was motivated by Islamic State ideology, as the nation grapples with the scale and symbolism of an attack that deliberately targeted Jewish Australians.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said early Tuesday that investigators believe the assault was driven by extremist ideology linked to Islamic State, describing it as an act of hate rooted in a long-standing global threat.
“It would appear that this was motivated by Islamic State ideology,” Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“The ideology that has been around for more than a decade that led to this ideology of hate, and in this case, a preparedness to engage in mass murder.”
Albanese said one of the attackers had previously been interviewed by security services in 2019 but was not deemed a continuing threat at the time.
“Now, whether he was radicalised further after that, what the circumstances are, that’s the subject of further investigation,” he said.
The prime minister stressed that the government is intensifying efforts to confront antisemitism across the country.
“We are working as hard as we can,” he said, adding: “But antisemitism, of course, has been around for a very long period of time – that’s the point. Islamic State is an ideology that, tragically, over the last decade, particularly since 2015, has led to a radicalization of some people to this extreme position, and it is a hateful action.”
The attack unfolded on Sunday during a Jewish gathering at the iconic beachside location, killing victims aged between 10 and 87.
Among the dead were a Holocaust survivor and two rabbis. Authorities said the incident was Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in almost three decades and formally declared it a terrorist attack.
Police identified the suspects as a father and son.
The father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who migrated to Australia in 1998, was shot dead at the scene.
His 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, who was born in Australia, remains in custody. Albanese said authorities believe they “weren’t part of a wider cell,” which may explain why they evaded detection.
As the country mourns, stories of courage have also emerged. A bystander who wrestled a gun from one of the attackers remains in hospital.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described him as a “real-life hero.” The man was later identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, whose refugee parents had recently arrived from Syria.
More than 1.4 million Australian dollars have been donated to a GoFundMe page set up in his support.
Organisers said they were compelled to act after witnessing “the extraordinary actions of the hero who helped disarm one of the attackers during the Bondi tragedy, an act that prevented the loss of countless more lives.”
As tributes poured in, Israel’s Ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, spoke of his grief and long-standing concerns about antisemitism.
“In my public statements, I mentioned and I shared my concerns about the rise in general and after (the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel) in particular,” he said, adding that he had visited every synagogue in Australia that had come under attack in recent years.
“My heart is torn apart,” Maimon said, noting that he had known some of those killed. He described a climate of fear among Jewish Australians.
“Nearly in every campus there is a so-called dedicated building where the [Jewish] students can study in a more secure atmosphere. This is insane,” he said.
“I would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to the community, to all Australians, and to join the community in their call to the government to take all necessary measures to make sure that the life of every Australian – whether a Jew, a Muslim or a Christian – will be safe,” he added.
Jewish leaders said warnings about rising antisemitism had gone unheeded. Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann of the Ark Centre in Melbourne, who knew several of the victims, said the attack represented a devastating failure to act on those concerns.
“When Jews tell elected members that they feel unsafe, they feel insecure, something doesn’t feel right, and schools are targeted, places of worship are firebombed, and people don’t feel safe wearing their kippah or their Star of David necklaces or being in Jewish uniform on the street, then ultimately we have a big problem,” he said.
“To bat it away and to call it hysteria or hyperbole or just ultimately ignore it is something that now we are dealing with the repercussions,” Kaltmann added.
Reflecting on the broader context, he said: “So many of us are descendants of those incredible people that survived concentration camps and the pogroms and the anti-Semitism of Europe. So many of us have fled from countries where this sort of thing happens, and we’ve come to Australia in search of a better life.”
He added: “Over the past two years that sense of safety has shattered.”
Another rabbi, speaking of the emotional toll on the community, described the aftermath as unbearable.
“None of us could believe that something like this could happen on the sun-kissed shores of Australia in such an idyllic, beautiful, iconic place, Bondi Beach,” Kaltmann said on a separate occasion. “It’s just something that’s unimaginable, unfathomable.”
Authorities said 27 people remain in hospital, including a police officer who is in serious but stable condition.
Amid the national shock, Albanese announced plans to further strengthen Australia’s already strict gun laws, including tighter restrictions on who can obtain a firearms licence.
He also rejected criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who suggested Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state had fuelled antisemitism.
“I did not see a link between the two events,” Albanese said, adding: “And overwhelmingly, most of the world recognizes a two-state solution as being the way forward in the Middle East.”
The attack has prompted renewed scrutiny of antisemitism in Australia. According to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, there were 1,654 antisemitic incidents last year, a threefold increase since the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
As Sydney wakes to a city in mourning, candles and flowers continue to line makeshift memorials, while a Hanukkah menorah has been projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House — a symbol of remembrance, resilience and defiance in the face of hate. - December 16, 2025
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