Bondi shooting now: Live updates as terrorists revealed as father and son while Netanyahu condemns attack
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Key Events
Ley says brave Australians who helped in Bondi showed ‘acts of mateship’
Sussan Ley has said the brave Australians who helped with the Bondi Beach massacre are “heroes” who showed “acts of mateship”.
“I want to recognise those who stepped into danger to save lives, the everyday heroes,” she said.
“We don’t know who they all are, but we have heard the stories (of those) who did extraordinary things on the most extraordinary of days.
“Brave civilians, they are indeed heroes. It is those acts of mateship and love that will always define us as Australians.”
Ms Ley also thanked the “swift and courageous” response of the NSW Police and NSW Ambulance paramedics.
“It’s their immediate action that steered people away from danger, that helped save lives and that kept people feeling as safe as they possibly could in this horrific attack,” she told a press conference in Sydney.
Ley calls for greater funding for security around synagogues and Jewish events
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has called for greater funding for security around synagogues and Jewish events.
Speaking in Sydney on Monday after the attack, which claimed the lives of at least 15 innocent people at Bondi Beach, she said there needed to be greater support for Jews in Australia.
“We stand ready to support any meaningful action that the Albanese Government can take. To properly fund the security that Jewish Australians have been asking for at their schools, their places of worship and in their community,” she said.
“But it’s about much more than security. If laws need to be passed, we should recall the parliament and undertake to do exactly that. I stand with all Australians in this moment of shared grief.”
Anti-Semitism ‘left to fester’: Sussan Ley
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says Australians are right to be angry and revolted because anti-Semitism “has been left to fester” in the country.
“We have a Government that sees anti-Semitism as a problem to be managed, not an evil that needs to be eradicated,” she says at a press conference in Sydney.
“Everything must change from today in how governments respond.”
Her shadow Home Affairs minister, Jonno Duniam says over the past two years, there have been countless warnings and recommendations to leaders about things that needed to be addressed.
Ms Ley called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to commit to implementing all the recommendations in anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report, which was handed to the Government in July.
“I stand with all Australians in this moment of shared grief, and I give this undertaking to the Australian people: we will do whatever it takes to force the strongest possible action from governments to keep Australians safe, to keep Jewish Australians safe, and to secure justice,” Ms Ley said.
Ley calls on PM to immediately act on anti-Semitism envoy’s recommendations
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has called on the Albanese Government to immediately act on the recommendations delivered in anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report earlier this year.
The 20-page plan was released in July to fight anti-Semitism and included 49 actions across 13 areas.
Ms Ley was scathing in her remarks at a press conference on Monday, less than 24 hours after the shocking attack.
“Jewish Australians (have) told me that they’re returning to Israel because they feel safer there than they do here,” Ms Ley said.
“Recently, I spoke with the Prime Minister’s special envoy for anti-Semitism, Jillian Segal and I touched base again with her this morning.
“The Prime Minister has told Jewish Australians that he will do whatever it takes to deal with anti-Semitism.
“He must start today by committing to implementing all of the recommendations in his anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report.
“We stand ready to support any meaningful action that the Albanese Government can take.”
Hollywood stars among those to express their condolences after Bondi attack
Hollywood stars have been among those to express their condolences, including Sydney-born actress Rebel Wilson and Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
“Just waking up to the news about what’s happened on Bondi Beach. An absolute tragedy that is the most un-Australian thing to have happened,” Wilson said.
Gadot, who is well-known for portraying Wonder Woman, wrote that her “heart is shattered” and called it a deliberate strike against “a sacred moment of community and hope”.
Ashton Kutcher, an actor known for his roles on That 70s Show and The Butterfly Effect, also expressed solidarity with Australians.
“Antisemitic rhetoric is not abstract—it carries a cost, and my brothers and sisters continue to pay it. May this devastation somehow spark a hidden miracle, one our eyes do not yet have the merit to see,” Kutcher posted to X.
Home Affairs Minister returns from New Zealand after Bondi Beach massacre
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has reportedly returned to Australia from New Zealand to respond to the Bondi Beach massacre.
The Labor frontbencher will meet with the Prime Minister as the authorities and the nation continue to come to terms with the horrific attack.
“I’m horrified by the news from Bondi. The Prime Minister is being briefed directly by all security agencies,” Mr Burke said in a statement after the attack.
“All Australians stand together with the victims and against this appalling act of violence. I encourage everyone in Sydney to listen to the directions of the NSW Police as they conduct their investigation.”
King Charles says he’s ‘appalled and saddened’ by terrorist attack in Bondi Beach
King Charles has said he’s “appalled and saddened” by the horrific antisemitic terrorist attack on the Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday.
“In times of hurt, Australians always rally together in unity and resolve. Our hearts go out to everyone.
“My wife and I are appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack on Jewish people attending the Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach.
“We commend the police, emergency services and members of the public whose heroic actions no doubt prevented even greater horror and tragedy.”
‘Rough day’: Trump and other leaders speak out on Bondi terror
World leaders — including US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron — have offered their solidarity following the Bondi Beach massacre.
“I thank world leaders who have reached out, from President Trump, President Macron, Prime Minister Starmer, others right around the world,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in Sydney on Monday morning before visiting the scene.
“(They) have reached out to Australia at this time and we thank you for your sympathy and your solidarity with our values.
“Australia will never submit to division, violence or hatred and we will come through this together. We refuse to let them divide us as a nation.”
Mum of Bondi shooter reveals his last words before attack
The mother of Naveed Akram, one of the two alleged gunmen involved in the horrific Bondi Beach terror attack, has broken her silence, revealing what her son said to her before the deadly shooting.
Naveed, 24, and his father, Sajid Akram, 50, have been identified as the two men who allegedly opened fire at Bondi Junction in a terror attack targeting Jews.
The mother, Verna, who appeared shocked by the horrific mass shooting, said her son, the alleged gunman who is still alive, is a “good boy”.
Verna says her son told her he was on a weekend away in Jervis Bay on the NSW coast when she last spoke to him on Sunday morning.
“He rings me up and said, ‘Mum, I just went for a swim. I went scuba diving’,” Verna said, according to the SMH.
She claimed he also said: “We’re going … to eat now, and then this morning, and we’re going to stay home now because it’s very hot.
“Anyone would wish to have a son like my son … he’s a good boy.”
What we know about the six legally owned guns and explosives
Multiple weapons and improvised explosive devices were used to carry out one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in Australian history. This is what we know about the weapons used to target Jews.
One of the two gunmen who opened fire on Australians at Bondi Beach on Sunday night held a gun licence.
NSW Police say he held that gun license for around 10 years, stating that before Sunday, there had been no other incident.
On Monday, authorities confirmed one of the gunmen was legally is possession of six guns.
However, despite that lack of other offences, on Sunday, the man was able to use legally acquired guns to target Jewish Australians celebrating Hanukkah by the beachside, killing 16 people.
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