AUSTRALIAN police have charged a man with 59 criminal offences, including murder and terrorism, following a mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach that killed 15 people and shocked the nation.
Reuters, on Wednesday, cited New South Wales Police saying the charges include 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of wounding with intent to murder, a terrorism offence and several other serious charges.
“Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community,” police said in a statement.
“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia.”
Court documents identified the accused as 24-year-old Naveed Akram, who remains in a Sydney hospital under heavy police guard after emerging from a coma on Tuesday afternoon. He is expected to appear via video link before a local court on Monday.
The attack took place on Sunday when Akram and his father, Sajid Akram, allegedly opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people. Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene.
Authorities said the father and son had travelled to the southern Philippines, a region long associated with Islamist militancy, weeks before the attack. Australian police believe the shooting was inspired by Islamic State ideology.
Funerals for the Jewish victims began on Wednesday, amid widespread anger and grief over how the attackers were able to legally obtain high-powered firearms, despite one of them having previously drawn the attention of intelligence agencies.
A funeral was held for Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi Synagogue and a father of five. Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin said Schlanger was known for his extensive outreach work, including visits to prisons and Jewish residents in public housing.
The attack has intensified scrutiny of the Australian government’s handling of antisemitism during the two-year Israel-Gaza war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faced criticism that his centre-left government had not acted decisively enough to prevent rising hatred.
“We will work with the Jewish community, we want to stamp out and eradicate antisemitism from our society,” Albanese told reporters.
The government and intelligence services are also under pressure to explain why Sajid Akram was allowed to acquire the rifles and shotguns used in the attack. Albanese confirmed that Naveed Akram had been briefly investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency in 2019 over alleged links to Islamic State, but said there was no evidence at the time that he posed a threat.
U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the tragedy at a Hanukkah event at the White House on Tuesday night.
“We join in mourning all of those who were killed, and we’re praying for the swift recovery of the wounded,” Trump said, describing the shooting as a “horrific and antisemitic terrorist attack”.
In response to the violence, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announced that the state parliament would be recalled on December 22 to pass urgent reforms to gun and protest laws.
Minns said the proposed changes would include capping the number of firearms a single individual can own and restricting access to certain types of shotguns. The government is also considering measures to make it more difficult to organise large street protests following terror incidents, in an effort to reduce further tensions.
“We’ve got a monumental task in front of us. It’s huge,” Minns said.
“It’s a huge responsibility to pull the community together. I think we need a summer of calm and togetherness, not division.”
The human toll of the attack continues to resonate across Australia. The family of 22-year-old police officer Jack Hibbert, who was shot twice during the incident after just four months on the force, said he had lost vision in one eye and faces a long recovery.
“In the face of a violent and tragic incident, he responded with courage, instinct, and selflessness, continuing to protect and help others whilst injured, until he was physically no longer able to,” his family said in a statement.
Prime Minister Albanese also praised 43-year-old Ahmed al-Ahmed, who tackled one of the gunmen and disarmed him despite being shot. Al-Ahmed was scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday.
Speaking from Syria, his uncle Mohammed al-Ahmed said the family learned of his actions through social media.
“Ahmed is a hero, we’re proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him,” he told Reuters.
As of Wednesday, 23 people remained hospitalised across Sydney. Among those killed were a Holocaust survivor, a married couple who approached the gunmen before the shooting began, and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda.
At a candlelight vigil on Tuesday night, Matilda’s father urged Australians to remember his daughter.
“We came here from Ukraine … and I thought that Matilda is the most Australian name that can ever exist. So just remember the name, remember her,” he was quoted as saying by local media.
On Bondi Beach, swimmers and residents gathered on Wednesday for a minute’s silence. Organisers cancelled a planned New Year’s Eve celebration at the site.
“This week has obviously been very profound, and this morning, I definitely feel a sense of the community getting together, and a sense of everyone sitting together,” said Archie Kalaf, a 24-year-old Bondi resident.
“Everyone’s grieving, everyone’s understanding and processing it in their own way.” - December 17, 2025
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