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At least 12 people were killed and 29 were hospitalized in a mass shooting Sunday evening during Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, authorities say.
The annual celebration, known as “Chanukah by the Sea”, was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. by lighting the first candle on the menorah to celebrate the first day of the Jewish holiday. Police say the attack was “targeted” at the Jewish community and is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
The New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF) said officers responded to reports of shots fired at about 6:45 pm on Sunday. Police say at least two gunmen were involved in the attack and they are investigating the possibility of a third. Police said twelve people were killed in the shooting, including one of the two suspected gunmen. The condition of the second alleged shooter is critical.
The agency confirmed that at least 29 other people, including two police officers, were hospitalized after the shooting. The shooting is the worst attack against Jews since Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023.
Anti-Semitic attackers violently target synagogue, Israeli restaurant in Australia
An investigation is underway after a deadly attack at a Hanukkah event on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Sunday. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
Police said they found evidence of several improvised explosive devices in a vehicle near the site of the attack.
“Our rescue bomb disposal unit is working there at the moment,” he said.
Speaking at an event in Jerusalem on Sunday recognizing the extraordinary achievements of immigrants, Israeli President Isaac Herzog acknowledged the attack.
“At these very moments, our sisters and brothers in Sydney, Australia, have been subjected to a very brutal attack by evil terrorists on Jews who had gone to Bondi Beach to light the first Chanukah candle,” Herzog said. “Our hearts go out to them. The hearts of the entire nation of Israel are breaking at this moment, as we pray for the recovery of the wounded, we pray for them and we pray for those who lost their lives.”
Australia’s Jewish community concerned about rising anti-Semitism: ‘Fear and concern’
A health worker carries a stretcher after the shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on December 14, 2025. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
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Herzog also called on the Australian government to “take action and fight against the overwhelming wave of anti-Semitism that is plaguing Australian society.”
