Chanukah slaughter on Bondi Beach claims at least 12 dead with 29 injured

A coordinated shooting at a beachside Chanukah celebration left at least 12 dead Sunday night, including children and a police officer, as two gunmen opened fire on families attending a festival at one of Australia’s most iconic beaches.

The attack unfolded at 6:47 p.m. on Sunday, December 14, 2025, as crowds gathered for Chanukah by the Sea near the children’s playground at Bondi Beach Park. Witnesses reported hearing up to 50 shots as hundreds of community members scattered in panic.

Police killed one attacker at the scene. A second gunman was wounded and taken into custody, where he remains under guard receiving medical treatment, news.com.au reported. Authorities believe the assault was planned over several months, deliberately timed to coincide with both the Jewish holiday and nearby Christmas markets, according to police sources cited by news.com.au. Multiple videos posted to social media showed two gunmen standing on a footbridge connecting Campbell Parade to the Bondi Pavillion, firing shots into a crowd.

Sky News has reported at least 10 dead and as many as 25 shot.

NSW Police established a security cordon around the beach and advised residents to steer clear and take shelter. “We are responding to a developing incident at Bondi Beach,” police said in a statement issued as the operation continued Sunday evening, news.com.au reported.

NSW Ambulance deployed more than 26 emergency resources, including helicopters and intensive care teams. Paramedics treated victims on-site before transporting at least six to area hospitals.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says “the evil” perpetrated on Bondi Beach today “is beyond comprehension”. He called the gunmen “cowards” and confirmed the National Security Committee had met and was investigating the attack as terrorism.
“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” Albanese said.

“Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives. My thoughts are with every person affected,” he said. “I have just spoken to the AFP Commissioner and the NSW Premier. We are working with NSW Police and will provide further updates as more information is confirmed. I urge people in the vicinity to follow information from the NSW Police.”

Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley described the nation as being in “mourning” and said that “hateful violence” had targeted the heart of the Bondi Beach community.
“The loss of life from this attack is significant, and I join with the Prime Minister in urging all Australians to follow official advice from police and relevant authorities,” she said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns described the reports and images as “deeply distressing” and urged the public to follow official advice. “Police and emergency services are responding, and the public should follow official advice,” he said. “We will update the public as soon as more information becomes available.” “Our heart bleeds tonight for Sydney’s Jewish community,” he concluded.

Graphic footage circulating on social media and WhatsApp groups showed bystanders and officers administering CPR to two men on a footbridge near the pavillion, with spent shotgun shells littering the area around pools of blood, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Additional footage showed the gunmen firing towards the beach, with large quantities of ammunition visible, as people screamed and fled, according to news.com.au.

State Opposition leader Kellie Sloane was at a Chanukah celebration in Dover Heights before heading to Bondi Beach soon after the attack. In a statement, she said the incident was a “horrific attack on our community and on our way of life”.

Will Nemesh, Mayor of Waverley, condemned the assault in strong terms, describing it as a deeply troubling attack on the community.
“This is a deeply disturbing and upsetting incident,” he said. “Council is horrified by the images and reports emerging from Bondi Beach, and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted.
“While details are still emerging, the fact that the annual Chanukah festivities were underway when this shooting unfolded is sickening and despicable.”

A video uploaded to X showed the moment as a brave bystander rushed one of the gunmen while he was firing, with the man crouching behind a car before running up to the shooter, grabbing him from behind, and wrestling the shotgun away.

Harry Wilson, 30, a local resident, told the Sydney Morning Herald he saw “at least 10 people on the ground and blood everywhere” as police vehicles converged on Campbell Parade and hundreds fled the area.

One mother recounted to news.com.au how a stranger pulled her daughters, who had been out for a night swim, to safety in a nearby house after they witnessed the gunman. “They saw the gun and are now hiding,” she said. “A lady grabbed them and told them to run.”

Witnesses reported at least one bystander disarmed one of the shooters during the rampage, an act of bravery that may have prevented additional casualties, news.com.au reported.

While authorities have not confirmed a motive, speculation has centred on a possible terror connection, with some sources suggesting an Islamic extremist link, according to news.com.au..

The beach remains sealed off as investigators piece together the plot. Police expect to release additional details as the investigation progresses, but for now Sydney confronts a nightmarish end to what began as a day of celebration.

Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, stated, “This is the Jewish community at its best, coming together to mark a happy occasion. If we were targeted deliberately in this way, it’s something of a scale that none of us could have ever fathomed. It’s a horrific thing.” His media advisor, Evan Zlatkis was injured in the attack.

Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, stated he was “in continuous contact with leaders of the Jewish community in Australia,” noting “there are many casualties, including fatalities,” according to JNS.org. The event was organised by the Chassidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement and attended by thousands, according to Chikli’s statement.

President Isaac Herzog condemned the “cruel” shooting attack, calling on Canberra to fight against “the enormous wave of antisemitism” that he said “is plaguing Australian society,” according to The Times of Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar expressed outrage over the attack in a statement.
“These are the results of the antisemitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the antisemitic and inciting calls of ‘Globalise the Intifada’ that were realised today,” he said. “The Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses.”

Israeli lawmaker Tzvika Fogel briefly halted a meeting of the Knesset’s National Security Committee, which he chairs, to check to speak to his son, who was at the Sydney Chanukah event that was attacked. Fogel’s daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were also at the event. The Otzma Yehudit MK said everyone was okay.

Explosive devices were found hidden along nearby Campbell Parade and have now been removed by police.

ASIO has indicated that one of the shooters is known to them. ABC Television has named one of the gunmen as Naveed Akram of Bonny Rigg. Police have now reportedly raided his home.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi, has been identified as one of those killed, a spokesman for the movement says.

At 10:25pm, the death toll has risen to 12, including the gunmen, with 29 people taken to hospital.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon declared the incident a terrorist attack in the aftermath of Sunday’s massacre.

This is a developing story.