2025 Bondi Beach shooting


On 14 December 2025, an antisemitic Islamic State -inspired terrorist attack occurred at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, during a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah attended by around 1,000 people.
Beginning at 6:42pm, two gunmen, allegedly Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, killed a total of 15 people including 11 men, 3 women and a 10-year-old girl. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police; his son was treated for wounds at a local hospital and survived.
Four people confronted the gunmen, attempting to foil the attack. Three were killed and one suffered gunshot wounds. Volunteer surf lifesavers and Waverly Council lifeguards rushed to the scene to provide first aid during the active shooting. Members of the New [South Wales Police Force] shot the two alleged gunmen, killing Sajid Akram and critically injuring Naveed Akram, who was detained. Forty people, including at least two police officers, were injured and taken to various hospitals. Four homemade bombs were thrown into the crowd but failed to detonate. Another homemade bomb was found in a car belonging to one of the shooters.
Numerous world leaders, news outlets and Australian authorities declared that the shooting was motivated by antisemitism. The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the shooting was "deliberately targeted at the Jewish community on the first day of Chanukah". Police charged Naveed Akram with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder. The ongoing investigation by the federal and New South Wales police forces is named "Operation Arques". A federal royal commission will examine the circumstances surrounding the attack. A federal review into federal agencies that had begun, before the decision to hold a royal commission had been made, will become part of the commission.
The Bondi shooting is the first fatal attack on Jews in Australia. It is the second-deadliest mass shooting in modern Australian history. Mass casualty attacks are uncommon in Australia; the country enacted strict gun laws in response to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in which 35 people were killed. Following the Bondi Beach shooting, the National Cabinet unanimously agreed to further restrict gun laws and introduce a gun buyback program. The attack led to changes to hate speech laws and was marked by a national day of reflection and a national day of mourning.

Background

The December 2025 attack in Bondi was the first deadly attack targeting Jews in Australia. Prior to this incident, the Australian Jewish community experienced an increase in antisemitic attacks on Jewish individuals and institutions since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023. The shooting targeted an annual community Hanukkah celebration organised by Chabad named "Chanukah by the Sea". The event was held at Archer Park just east of the Bondi Pavilion, with around 1,000 people in attendance.
Australia's gun laws include restrictions on automatic, semi-automatic and pump action rifles, as well as shotguns, which were introduced after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Despite this, the number of firearms in Australia, and the number of people licensed to own them, has increased, and hit "a record high" before the shootings. In New South Wales, where the Bondi Beach shooting took place, there were 260,000 gun licences in 2025, up from 181,000 in 2001.
Extretmist groups have risen in Australia over the past decade including neonazi groups'' such as the National Socialist Network.
In August 2024, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation raised Australia's national terrorism threat level from "possible" to "probable", citing the risk of community tensions and political violence related to the Gaza war as one of the reasons for doing so.
The style of the attack resembles other Islamic State attacks on Jewish and Christian targets but Islamic State has not previously focused on the Palestine conflict with Israel.

Islamic State supporters in Sydney

As a teenager, Naveed Akram followed radical Islamic preacher William Haddad, who was found to have violated Australia's racial hatred laws in 2025. Dakkak was the first person convicted of "guilt by association" to other IS members. Despite these connections, authorities concluded Naveed Akram was not a high-risk member of this network.

Attack

Police allege that Sajid and Naveed Akram, a father and his son, threw three pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb into the crowd from a footbridge arching over the carpark to the north of the Bondi Pavilion, all of which failed to detonate. After throwing the bombs, they began shooting into the crowd. Initial videos of the attack showed two men dressed in black tops firing on the crowd from the footbridge, reportedly with a straight pull bolt action rifle and a shotgun. Emergency services were first called to the scene at 18:47. New South Wales Police released a statement at 18:57 confirming their response to an ongoing incident.

Timeline

The younger gunman paused and appeared to wave away bystanders approaching him from directions other than that of the Hanukkah celebration, before resuming fire at the Jewish gathering.
A bystander began capturing a nearly continuous 11-minute video shortly after the gunmen opened fire, filming the attackers from the street side of the footbridge approximately away. The video captured the final moments of the shooting including the first police officer stepping onto the footbridge to apprehend the gunmen, as well as the treating of wounded people.
Several police officers used their pistols to shoot at the gunmen from both sides of the footbridge. A detective, using a tree as cover approximately away, fired on the gunmen from behind, killing Sajid with a fatal shot to the head. The detective, and also a female officer, are believed to have shot at Naveed and both wounded him in the stomach. A bystander went onto the bridge and kicked away a weapon from one of the gunmen; continued fire forced him to duck, and the bystander was briefly mistaken for an attacker by other bystanders. The attack had lasted for six minutes from 18:42 to 18:48.
According to The Guardian, the first thing police did when they reached the footbridge was give CPR to Naveed. The wounded Naveed was apprehended by police and rushed to hospital in critical condition. The gunmen had fired about 83 rounds, with approximately 20 additional rounds fired by police.
More than 123 ambulance personnel attended the scene.

Civilian intervention

Numerous acts of intervention by civilians were exhibited during the attack.
Prior to the start of the attack, Boris and Sofia Gurman, a Russian-Jewish Australian couple, noticed an Islamic State flag displayed on a parked vehicle. Sajid exited the vehicle, at which point the Gurmans struggled with him, seizing his gun. Sajid then retrieved another rifle and shot them both dead.
During the attack itself, Ahmed al-Ahmed, an unarmed 43-year-old Syrian Australian Muslim and father of two born in Al-Nayrab, Syria, disarmed Sajid. Al-Ahmed approached him by crouching between two parked cars. He approached the gunman from behind, seized the weapon, and turned it toward Sajid before propping the weapon against a tree. Sajid then retreated to the bridge, where one of the gunmen shot and wounded al-Ahmed twice.
After reaching a safe place, Gefen Bitton ran back toward the gunfire after seeing al-Ahmed confront Sajid. While doing this, he was shot several times and was critically injured.
Reuven Morrison charged Sajid as he retreated, throwing a brick and attempting to disrupt the attack. A gunman shot and killed him.
In addition to those who directly confronted the gunmen, off-duty volunteer lifesavers from Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club and North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club, immediately adjacent to Archer Park, rushed to the aid of victims under fire at the risk to their own lives. They were on the scene before ambulance crews arrived. They used surfboards as stretchers and depleted the club's stock of bandages, as well as giving approximately 250 people shelter inside the club, including a heavily pregnant woman who went into labour during the attack. There was also one water rescue.
New South Wales Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane was among those present who helped surf lifesavers giving first aid to victims.

Casualties

Sixteen people were killed in the attack, with fourteen having died at the scene and two in a hospital. Forty people were injured and taken to a hospital, including the other alleged gunman, Naveed Akram, with five people in critical condition., five people remained in hospital in Sydney.

List of victims killed

The fifteen victims killed in the shooting were:
  • Edith Brutman, 68, vice president of B'nai B'rith NSW anti-prejudice and anti-discrimination committee
  • Dan Elkayam, 27, a French national who played for Rockdale Ilinden FC and worked in Sydney as an IT analyst for NBCUniversal
  • Boris, 69, and Sofia Gurman, 61, who disarmed the older gunman on his arrival but were killed with another rifle
  • Alex Kleytman, 87, a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Australia from Ukraine and worked as a civil engineer
  • Yaakov Levitan, 39, a South African–born rabbi who was secretary of Sydney Beth Din
  • Peter Meagher, 61, retired police detective and Randwick DRUFC manager who was hired as a freelance photographer at Chanukah by the Sea
  • Reuven Morrison, 62, a Soviet states|Soviet]–born businessman who threw an object at the older gunman before being killed
  • Marika Pogany, 82, a Czechoslovakian-born Australian volunteer who delivered meals and services to Jewish seniors
  • Matilda, 10, the youngest fatality; a student at La Perouse Public School, born to Ukrainian immigrants
  • Eli Schlanger, 41, British-born assistant rabbi of Chabad and chaplain for Corrective Services NSW
  • Adam Smyth, 50, a Bondi local taking a walk with his wife Katrina
  • Boris Tetleroyd, 68, a visitor at the Hanukkah event who died alongside his wounded son
  • Tania Tretiak, 68, a Randwick resident attending the event with her family
  • Tibor Weitzen, 78, Soviet–born automotive engineer who died shielding his wife and Edith Brutman

Victim identity change

changed the name of victim Rosalia Shikhverg in their records while she was a patient there. The reason given was to protect Shikhverg's privacy, however, Shikhverg believed it was to deceive hospital staff treating her.

Investigations

Initial investigation

On the night of the attack, the NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon declared the attack a terrorist incident, Australian intelligence officials said one of the offenders was known to them. After the shooting, police located a large box-like homemade bomb in the boot of the suspects' vehicle. The investigation was named Operation Arques. Following the incident, Operation Shelter, a NSW Police operation aimed at preventing antisemitic and other hate-related attacks, was expanded, with additional personnel, resources, and operational support deployed to boost surveillance and increase police presence across Sydney.
On the day of the attack, police raided a property in Bonnyrigg where the gunmen had lived. Three people were taken into custody, but released without charge shortly thereafter.
Police raided an Airbnb house in Campsie where the suspects were believed to have been staying prior to the attack. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the pair had told family members they were going on a fishing trip to Jervis Bay.
On 16 December, the Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said that "Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State".
Motivations were described by official sources as rooted in antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and the ideology of the Islamic State.
On 22 December, further details of the attack were later released following the lifting of a court suppression order, that four homemade bombs had been thrown into the crowd but had failed to detonate. Also released, were screenshots from a video located on Naveed's phone, that show him and Sajid allegedly conducting firearms training in October 2025 in a rural location. Another video, also located on Naveed's phone filmed in October, allegedly shows him and Sajid sitting in front of an image of an IS flag in which the two make statements "condemning the acts of 'Zionists'."
On 30 December, Barrett said that "There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell or were directed by others to carry out an attack".

Travel to the Philippines

Australian counterterrorism officials are looking into a trip the two suspects made to the Philippines a month before the attack, to see whether they received military training there. According to Filipino officials, the men travelled to Manila on 1 November, Sajid Akram on an Indian passport and Naveed Akram on an Australian one, and then headed to Davao City, on the island of Mindanao, where an IS insurgency is ongoing. According to local police and staff, they spent their entire 28-day stay in Davao City, rarely leaving their hotel room and then for only an hour or so at a time, and receiving no visitors, before departing on 28 November. According to hotel staff, they had initially booked a 7-day stay, but repeatedly extended it.
According to the National Police">National Party of Australia">National Police, the pair rarely left the hotel during their visit, and there is no evidence that they undertook training for their attacks.
In the Philippines, the country's National [Bureau of Investigation (Philippines)|National Bureau of Investigation], Bureau of Immigration and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are investigating the claim that the shooting suspects went to Mindanao prior to the attack. The Office of the President strongly rejected the characterization of the Philippines as an "ISIS training ground". The Mindanao Development Authority called characterization of Mindanao as a "terror hotspot" in light of the Bondi Beach shooting as "misleading" and "unfair" and used the results of the 3rd quarter 2025 Mindanao Safety and Security Perception to refute it. In the opinion poll conducted by MinDA, respondents yielded a 88.51% in safety perception. The country's Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed Australian authorities statement on 30 December that there is no evidence the suspects were part of a terrorist cell or trained in the Philippines.

Accused

According to New South Wales police commissioner Mal Lanyon, the alleged shooters were a father and son duo; 50-year-old Sajid Akram, and 24-year-old Naveed Akram. The Telangana Police reported that Sajid Akram was an Indian national born into a family from Tolichowki, Hyderabad, who was a former student at Anwar-ul College in Nampally and had emigrated to Australia on 8 November 1998 on a student visa after completing a business degree in Hyderabad and marrying a woman in Australia. Telangana Police also reported that Sajid had no "adverse record" prior to his emigration, and that his family in India appeared to be unaware of his "radical mindset or activities". Sajid's Indian family cut ties with him after he married an Australian woman of Italian descent in 2001. According to Australian home affairs minister Tony Burke, he transferred to a partner visa in 2001 and later obtained a resident return visa as a consequence of being an Australian permanent resident. Later that same year, his son Naveed Akram was born in Australia, and is a citizen due to his mother's citizenship and his father's permanent residence. Sajid was shot and killed by New South Wales Police at the scene of the attack; Naveed was hospitalised in critical condition and woke from a coma two days later on 17 December.
Sajid had a firearms licence, was the registered owner of six guns, and was a member of a shooting club, Zastava Hunting Association.
Naveed had trained at the same shooting club.
The Serbian Times said the Naveed had a membership card, but quoted the Zastava club president as saying "we haven't seen him for five years".
Three firearms were used during the attack, and a fourth was located at the scene. The firearms used during the attack are believed to be a Beretta BRX1 .308 straight-pull rifle and two Stoeger M3000 M3K 12-gauge straight-pull shotguns. These weapons were imported to Australia to bypass restrictions on pump actions, as they are capable of a rate of fire which is not greatly inferior to the banned weapons.

ISIS lone wolf strategy

Naveed had been known to intelligence officials since 2019 but was deemed "not an immediate threat". The Akrams were inspired by Islamic State ideology, and appear to fit the profile of "lone wolf" attackers, a style Islamic State adopted after losing their territory in Iraq and Syria in 2019, but had been sanctioning as part of their strategy since 2014. Police said both gunmen had pledged allegiance to IS, and two IS flags were found in their car. According to police reports, documents prove the gunmen planned the attack monthsahead.

Royal commission

In the days following the attack, the New South Wales government announced that it would hold a royal commission to investigate the actions of New South Wales authorities, including the police response, gun licensing issues and antisemitism.
On 21 December, Albanese announced an Independent Commonwealth Review into Australia's federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to be led by retired public servant Dennis Richardson that would deliver a public report on the attack to government by the end of April 2026. On 29 December, the review's terms of reference werereleased. On 29 December, Albanese said that there were no plans for a federal royal commission, as it would give a platform to antisemitic view, and was not the best format for national security issues.
On 8 January, Albanese announced a federal Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion which will examine the circumstances surrounding the attack. Former High Court justice Virginia Bell has been appointed the commissioner. The Richardson review will become part of the commission and he will support its work, with delivery of an interim report by the commission in April. The federal royal commission will replace the proposed state-based New South Wales royal commission.
On 8 January, the Law Council of Australia, prior to the release of the royal commission's terms of reference, suggested that the New Zealand's royal commission into the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings could provide a "blueprint" for a royal commission into the attack "to ensure a criminal case is not compromised." On 9 January, the royal commission's terms of reference were released.

Criminal proceedings

On 17 December, police charged Naveed Akram with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, one count of committing a terrorist act, and 40 counts of attempted murder. He did not request bail, and his court date was set for 8 April 2026. Additional charges included discharging a firearm to cause grievous bodily harm, public display of prohibited terrorist symbols, and placing an explosive with intent to cause harm. On 22 December 2025, Akram was moved from Royal North Shore Hospital to Long Bay Correctional Centre. On 5 January 2026, he was transferred to Goulburn Correctional Centre, a supermaxprison.

Aftermath

Practical and official responses

Following the shooting, the Queensland Police Service increased their security presence at Jewish places of worship. Across Australia and New Zealand, Jewish events were cancelled due to the security risks from terror threats, after already having had to cancel many public events in recent years due to the high risk of attacks. In other areas of Sydney, Jewish synagogues, schools, and similar sites were closed on 15 December.
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese described the shooting as "shocking and distressing" and called it "deliberately targeted at the Jewish community on the first day of Chanukah" and "an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism and terrorism on our shores". He later said that more could have been done to prevent the attack, and that he accepts his share of responsibility as the prime minister. The minister for home affairs, Tony Burke, called the shooting an "appalling act of violence". The Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns, said "the reports and images coming out of Bondi tonight are deeply distressing" and encouraged people to follow the directions of police. Victorian premier Jacinta Allan increased funding for security services for Jewish spaces.
Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley delayed the release of the Coalition's new migration policy, citing concerns about fraying social cohesion and the risk that a fresh debate on migration levels would be inflammatory during "an extremely sensitive time". Instead of pursuing the migration debate, Ley shifted the Coalition's focus to national security and counterterrorism, calling for the immediate formation of an antisemitism and counter-terrorism taskforce.
The inquest findings for the April 2024 Bondi Junction stabbings were due days after the shooting, but the delivery of the findings was delayed out of respect for the Bondi victims.
Led by Steve Kamper, the Minister for Multiculturalism, an emergency meeting of the New South Wales Faith Affairs Council was held on 19 December, at which the campaign One Mitzvah for Bondi was established. Premier Chris Minns announced the project at a vigil at Bondi Beach on the eighth and final night of the holiday on 21 December. The effort encourages individuals to make the commitment to perform a mitzvah, the Jewish principle of performing an act of kindness or charity, on behalf of a neighbour or of the community at large, citing the message of Hanukkah "that darkness cannot extinguish the light".
After a Lifeblood request for O-negative blood donations, over 50,000 people volunteered to donate blood.
Sajid's Italian Australian wife, from whom he was estranged, owns the family home in Bonnyrigg after Sajid assigned his share to her. She refused to claim his body, and he would be given a destitute burial by the NSW Government.
Two days after the attack, the prime minister visited Syrian-born Ahmed al-Ahmed in hospital. On 18 December, al-Ahmed received million in donations from GoFundMe, with the largest donation coming from Jewish-American billionaire Bill Ackman, who donated.

Violence and incitement

Prevention of retaliatory race riots

The attack exacerbated older ethnic and religious tensions in the community. In the immediate aftermath of the attack there were threats of escalating violent retaliation. Incitement circulated online for a retaliatory "bashing day" focused on Cronulla, a beach near Bondi that was the epicentre of a previous anti-Arab and anti-Muslim 2005 [Cronulla riots|race riot in 2005]. In response to this, public assemblies were prohibited across the entire Sydney metro area for 14 days.
The targets of the calls for violent retaliation were the "Middle Eastern" and broader locally-described "wog" ethnic groups, referring to Lebanese Australians and other Eastern Mediterranean ethnic groups, the target of the previous mob violence. The previous race riots, 20 years earlier, were triggered by local violent crimes committed by individual Lebanese Australian men in Sydney, in the context of tensions already heightened by terrorist attacks in Bali in 2002 targeting Australian tourists, and the September 11 attacks in 2001.
A 20-year-old man appeared in court on charges of "using a carriage service to menace, harass, offend, and publicly threaten violence on grounds of race or religion". He had called for violence in response to the attack in Bondi.
Anti-Muslim incidents throughout Australia
Two weeks after the attack, the Australian National Imams Council reported an almost tripling in hostile acts towards Australian Muslims and Islamic institutions, including vandalism, online abuse, and physical intimidation, in particular towards women wearing hijabs. Some groups started taking security measures, such as members sleeping in mosques overnight to protect the buildings against vandalism.

Policy changes and proposals

Albanese vowed to advocate for stricter gun laws following the attack. On the day following the shooting, the National Cabinet, which consists of the leaders of Australia's state and territory governments and the prime minister, unanimously agreed to strengthen gun laws. Proposals brought forward during the meeting included restricting firearm ownership to Australian citizens only, accelerating the launch of a national firearms register, limiting the number of firearms a single person can own, and further restricting the types of legal weapons. The NSW Parliament was recalled to debate the state's proposed reforms before Christmas. On 19 December, Albanese announced that the federal government will establish a gun buyback program, which will require the state and territory governments to agree to ambitious new gun law reforms. The Albanese government intends to introduce legislation into parliament to fund the buyback scheme, under a 50:50 cost-sharing arrangement between Australia's federal government and its state and territory governments.
On 18 December, the Albanese government responded to a report delivered to the government in July 2025 on antisemitism, by the government's special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal, saying that they would take action on all the report's recommendations. The same day, the Albanese government announced the strengthening of hate speech laws. The Minister for Home Affairs would receive new powers to cancel or reject visas of hate preachers. A taskforce to ensure that the education system counters antisemitism will be set up. Special envoy Segal had previously supported lessons on antisemitism and the Holocaust.
On 24 December, the NSW government passed new legislationthe Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025addressing hate speech, the display of offensive symbols and tightened gun controls.
Premier Minns stated that the government will take stronger action against what it classifies as hate speech and confirmed plans to have the chant "globalise the intifada" officially designated as hate speech.

Immigration debates

The attack prompted discussions regarding Australia's immigration framework and gun laws, with some officials questioning the pathways from temporary visas to permanent residency and the criteria for obtaining a firearms license as a non-citizen permanent resident. On 12 January 2026, Albanese announced that the Australian Parliament would reconvene on 19 January to introduce fast-tracked hate speech and firearms legislation. The Prime Minister also confirmed that the federal government would seek cross-party support from the Coalition and Australian Greens.
Sajid was born to a Muslim family in India, and had repeatedly failed to obtain Australian citizenship; he remained an Indian citizen. The Indian Express pointed out that Islamic State recruits who travelled to Iraq and Syria were far more common from Australia than India, despite India's far larger population.

Reactions

Tributes

At the third Ashes test in Adelaide on 17 December, a three-minute silence was observed before the start of play, while both the Australian and English teams wore black armbands in memory of the victims of the shooting. A second tribute was held at the opening of the fifth Ashes test in Sydney on 4 January 2026 to honour victims and first responders.
On 21 December, a nationwide minute of silence was held in Australia as part of a national day of reflection over the shooting.
The 2025 Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks event included a minute's silence at 11pm and the projection of a menorah onto the pylons. The original plan was for a dove with the word "Peace" but after criticism from the Jewish community, the decision was made to feature a Jewish-specific symbol.
On 22 January 2026, Australia observed a national day of mourning.

Responses from Australian Jewish organisations

Various Australian Jewish organisations had differing responses. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry issued a statement saying: "The time for talking is over. We need decisive leadership and action now to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism from Australia's public life, for which the Jewish community has long been advocating... The shooting attack targeted the Jewish community but it took place at Bondi Beach, the people's beach, on what should have been a carefree summer's day. It was an attack on all Australians, our freedoms and our way of life." The CEO of the conservative Australian Jewish Association, Robert Gregory, said: "This is an attack on the Jewish community that deeply pains us as a community." The president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Jeremy Leibler, said: "An attack on Jews celebrating their faith is an attack on Australia itself. It is an assault on our values, our social cohesion, and the basic right of people to gather withoutfear."
Co-founder and executive of the progressive non-Zionist group Jewish Council of Australia Max Kaiser called remarks by special envoy Jillian Segal "highly irresponsible", after she had issued a statement suggesting that the attack was a logical consequence of pro-Palestinian protests since October 2023.
Bart Shteinman, a member of the executive of JCA, rejected any link between pro-Palestinian protests and the attack, calling it "opportunistic weaponisation of this attack by pro-Israel voices". The JCA later published an online petition calling upon the prime minister and all Australian leaders to stand against "those who are weaponising the Bondi massacre to push bigotry, hatred and division", stating that "it makes the real fight against antisemitism harder."

Responses from Australian Islamic organisations

The vast majority of Muslims in Australia and worldwide reject the Islamic State.
The Australian National Imams Council also condemned the shooting, saying: "This is a moment for all Australians, including the Australian Muslim community, to stand together in unity, compassion, and solidarity, rejecting violence in all its forms and affirming our shared commitment to social harmony and the safety of all Australians". They issued a statement saying the ANIC stood in solidarity with the Australian Jewish community and "unequivocally condemns ISIS as an evil, dangerous terrorist organisation whose actions and ideology stand in complete opposition to the teachings of Islam and the values upheld by Muslims worldwide". Muslim leaders in Sydney refused to perform funeral rites or receive the deceased gunman's body, condemning the shooting as a "barbaric, criminal, and terroristact". The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network condemned the attack and said "perpetrators of this horrendous attack do not represent our movement or the values we uphold".

Support for Ahmed al-Ahmed

International leaders spoke in support of Ahmed al-Ahmed, the bystander who intervened to disarm one of the attackers, praising his bravery. These leaders included Netanyahu, who referred to him as a "brave Muslim, and I salute him" and Trump who said that he was "a very, very brave person" who "saved a lot of lives". King Charles' 2025 Christmas message alluded to the actions of al-Ahmed and others who [|intervened], describing "the ways in which individuals and communities display spontaneous bravery, instinctively placing themselves in harm's way to defend others" as a short clip of floral tributes at Bondi was displayed.
Eva Corlett, The Guardians correspondent from Wellington New Zealand, wrote that many global headlines covering the shooting centred on the intervention from bystander al-Ahmed.
Jonathan Sacerdoti wrote in The Jewish Chronicle that British news media emphasised the heroism of al-Ahmed while editorially sidelining the fact that Jews were killed in an act of antisemitic terror.

Comparisons to Christchurch mosque shootings

Media, academics, and leaders from Australia and elsewhere in the Asia Pacific frequently compared the Bondi terror attack to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, in which another Australian shooter killed 51 people. In the first two days after the Bondi attack, news reports about Bondi from Australia, Singapore, India, and the Philippines mentioned the Christchurch attack.
Singapore's The Straits Times pointed out that the Christchurch attack was the deadliest ever committed by an Australian terrorist.
A week later, an article in Turkey's Daily Sabah called the Bondi attack a "heinous terrorist attack" and a "gruesome, glaring crime against humanity" then criticised Islamophobic aspects of Australia's reaction, presenting Islamophobia in Australia as a serious ongoing problem and giving the Christchurch attack as a key example.
The Christchurch massacre was also raised in Overland, an Australian literary journal, in an article from 18 December 2025. The author of the Overland article referred to "the forgotten Muslim martyrs of the Christchurch massacre of 15 March 2019" alongside the Bondi victims and the victims of massacres of Indigenous Australians.
The Sydney Morning Herald compared the attack to the Christchurch massacre in a 19 December 2025 article, mentioning that the Christchurch terrorist had been triggered by the death of a 12-year-old girl in a "Jihadi" attack in Sweden.

International responses

The attack was widely condemned internationally.

Islamic State media

On 18 December, Islamic State media called the attack a "source of pride" on its Telegram channel. Reuters and several other media sources in English described the announcement as not claiming responsibility. According to SITE Intelligence, IS has been using the attack as propaganda. Islamic State also dedicated the entire full page editorial to the attack in the 18 December 2025 issue of Al-Naba, their Arabic-language propaganda magazine.
Lebanese news quoted the al-Naba editorial as saying, "The Islamic State's official speeches and writings have consistently incited attacks against Jews and Christians during their holidays and gatherings," and the attackers "answered the call and carried out the recommendations to target holidays and gatherings".

United Kingdom

A press statement was made by UK prime minister Keir Starmer.
King Charles III, Australia's head of state, wrote:
In the United Kingdom, authorities cited the Bondi Beach attack as a factor in increasing enforcement against potentially violent protest behavior, alongside the Manchester synagogue attack that took place on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on 2 October 2025. On 17 December 2025, police forces in London and Greater Manchester announced that individuals chanting "globalise the intifada" at protests would be arrested, describing the action as necessary because "violent acts have taken place, the context has changed, words have meaning and consequence."

New Zealand

Press statements were made by the New Zealand prime minister, Christopher Luxon, and armed police in New Zealand were deployed on 15 December to guard Jewish sites across the country, including the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand and Kadimah School.

Israel

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the attack on Sunday 14 December Israeli time. Netanyahu delivered a speech from a government meeting at Dimona. Netanyahu attacked prime minister Albanese and called antisemitism a "cancer".
In what The Times of Israel called "an oblique attack on the Australian government" Netanyahu said, "...We will continue to demand from them to do what is demanded of leaders of free nations. We will not give up, we will not bow our heads, we will continue to fight as our ancestors did".
Writing in Haaretz, Dana Segall said that progressive reactions to the attack failed to acknowledge and emphasise its antisemitic nature, "dilut Jewish victimhood into a vague slurry of 'violence,' 'tragedy,' and 'shared humanity'."

Muslim nations

  • Jordan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Fouad al-Majali affirmed Jordan's solidarity with "friendly Australia".
  • Pakistan's prime minister and president condemned the attack. Arab News Pakistan reported that "Pakistan says it stands in solidarity with Australia", and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned "terrorism in all its forms and manifestations". President Asif Ali Zardari said "Pakistan itself a victim of terrorism, stands in solidarity with and condemns violence against innocent civilians". Both men expressed condolences to the victims.
  • Qatar's Foreign Ministry said the nation rejects "violence, terrorism and criminal acts regardless of their motives or causes".
  • The Saudi foreign ministry issued a statement saying, "The Kingdom affirms its stance against all forms of violence, terrorism, and extremism" and offering "sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Australia".
  • The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing condolences for the families of victims and saying, "Türkiye reiterates its principled stance against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations". TRT World reported, "The ministry stressed that Türkiye stands in solidarity with Australia".
  • The United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country "strongly condemns such criminal acts" and rejects "all forms of violence and terrorism".

Criticism of the response from Islamic State's enemies

criticized the Taliban for allegedly failing to condemn the ISIS attack, but noted that the rest of the Islamic world had, highlighting that officials in Iran, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates voiced strong disapproval of the attack.
According to Saudi-backed UK-based news agency Iran International, Iranian or Iran-affiliated Tasnim News Agency and Sabereen News appeared to have praised the killings. Iran international also pointed out that "The son of Iran's ex-ambassador to Australia" had posted about Hanukkah on X on 15 December 2015, even though his post made no mention of the attack.
There were also false flag conspiracy theories about Iran and the Islamic State,

Speculation and accusations

Recognition of the state of Palestine

The Islamic State ideology explicitly opposes the concept of nation states, including the existence of a Palestinian state.
Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley and other Liberal-National coalition MPs criticised Australia's recognition of Palestine for being linked to the shooting,
despite this being directly contrary to the goals of Islamic State – who aspire to be the only Islamic state and reject nation states as a concept – and of no interest to their local supporters.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Albanese government for "pouring fuel on this antisemitic fire" as a result of policies such as the recognition of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025. Albanese rejected the accusations, but later expressed his concern regarding some of the language used during pro-Palestine protests. Netanyahu has been pushing a "Hamas is ISIS" slogan since the 2014 Gaza war.
In an interview with Channel 4 News UK, former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull criticised Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for attributing the attack to Australian recognition of the State of Palestine, pointing out that the vast majority of nations recognise the state, and told "Bibi Netanyahu" to "stay out of our politics". Turnbull's remarks to Channel 4 UK were repeated in multiple other news sources.
Gaza war protests
The Guardian disputed claims that the terrorists' actions were influenced by pro-Palestine protests.

False flag conspiracy theories about Israel

Iranian officials condemned the attack. Iran's Mehr News Agency called the attack a "false flag" and blamed Israel for it. IRGC military officer Mohammad Reza Naqdi and Iranian Armed Forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi were also quoted making false flag accusations.
False flag conspiracy theories had broadly become more common over the past five years.
The Israeli false flag rumours were also circulating on social media.
Islamic State state media criticised the false flag claims in their Al-Naba newspaper.

Accusations against leftists

Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley caused controversy, and some confusion, by stating that the Royal Commission "must include reference to radical Islamic extremism, as well as far-left neo-Nazi extremism", when asked if she meant that Nazis were left wing, she said "Far left and neo-Nazi extremism were the words that I used, yes".

Misinformation

There were rumours on social media blaming Lebanese people and other Arabs, or claiming the shooters were Pakistani.
Following the attack, various pieces of misinformation were shared online. A website impersonating The Daily Aus, registered the same day as the shooting, launched an article purposely mislabelling bystander Ahmed al-Ahmed.
Additional posts online falsely claimed one of the alleged shooters had served in the IDF. Arsen Ostrovsky, a human rights attorney, survivor of the October 7 attacks, and employee of the Israeli think-tank Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, moved to Australia on 1 December, and became a victim of diverse online suspicion and even accusation after the shooting.
A fake AI-generated image was posted on the social media website X on 16 December 2025, with the caption claiming that Naveed Akram, one of the assailants in the shooting, had travelled to Manila, Philippines on an Indian passport before the shooting, and met with Kant Kothari, the defence attaché of India, outside a Jollibee restaurant. The post was debunked as "fake news" by the Australian Associated Press.
A Pakistani man living in Australia was harassed and threatened online due to having an identical name to one of the attackers. Pakistani officials accused "hostile countries", in particular India, of spreading false claims that one of the two attackers was a Pakistani national, when he was actually from India.
Such claims, alongside others, were spread by xAI's chatbot, Grok. Al Jazeera noted social media posts from around the world claiming that Ahmed al-Ahmed, one of the bystanders who intervened, had a completely different name or that he was a Lebanese Maronite Christian or a Jew. Al-Ahmed was later confirmed to be a Muslim, and a naturalised citizen of Australia who had emigrated from Syria.
Various social media personalities and influencers circulated misinformation surrounding the attack. For example, Drew Pavlou and others circulated a false story that Australian Muslims launched fireworks to celebrate the attack.

In film

  • Bondi: A Timeline of Terror - Sky News Australia announced that it will release its documentary of the event on 24 February 2026.
  • Four Corners begun airing a two-part special titled Bondi: Light Over Darkness on 2 February 2026.