Bondi shooting updates: ISIS say attack ‘source of pride’, community gather for paddle out for 15 lives lost

Several men are currently being questioned by NSW Police after a car carrying five people was intercepted on Thursday.

It is understood that charges have not yet been laid and that the men are assisting police.

NSW Police on Thursday pounced on the men, who had reportedly travelled from Melbourne and were on their way to the iconic beach four days after it was the scene of the worst terror attack on Australian soil.

“Tactical Operations police responded to information received that a violent act was possibly being planned,” a police statement said.

Police clad in camouflage and carrying rifles were seen surrounding at least three men near George St and Campbell St in Liverpool as they sat with their hands cable-tied behind their backs and facing a fence.

At Bondi Beach on Friday morning, hundreds gathered to honour innocent lives lost in a terrorist attack at one of the country’s most spectacular landmarks.

The community gathered for a paddle out at the world-famous beach as Australians seek unity and calm in the aftermath of an attack that left 15 people dead.

The scenes from the paddle out painted a stunning image of Australians coming together in the wake of the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims terrorists chose Bondi for an attack on Jews due to the country’s inaction on antisemitism.

“These terrorists are looking for places where Jews are not protected,” Mr Netanyahu said in an interview on Sky.

“That’s why they chose Australia, they chose Bondi because there’s no protection there.

“I think the writing was on the wall.

“I say now to the Australian Government: Dammit, wake up.

“You don’t need any more warning. You’ve already received enough.”

Police in London have arrested two people who called for “intifada” during a pro-Palestinian protest, which followed a decision by authorities to toughen enforcement of hate speech laws after a deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia.

The arrests on Wednesday came hours after police in London and Manchester, England, announced a crackdown on protesters using slogans such as “globalise the intifada”.

The Arabic word intifada is generally translated as “uprising”.

While pro-Palestinian demonstrators say the slogan describes the worldwide protests against the war in Gaza, Jewish leaders say it inflames tensions and encourages attacks on Jews, including the attack that killed 15 people on Sunday at Bondi Beach in Sydney.

London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley and Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said they decided to take a tougher stance after Bondi Beach and an October 2 attack on a Manchester synagogue that left two people dead.

“We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as ‘globalise the intifada’, and those using it at future protest or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action,” they said in a joint statement.

“Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed - words have meaning and consequence.”

ISIS has issued a statement in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack, calling it a source of “pride”, and calling the alleged gunmen “lions”.

Terrorist Sajid Akram, 50, and alleged terrorist gunman Naveed Akram, 24, had taken two homemade ISIS flags to Bondi on Sunday, according to NSW Police, before 15 people were killed.

Naveed, who has been charged with over 50 offences, survived the alleged terror attack.

In the statement, which was made through a weekly publication, ISIS did not claim responsibility, but praised two men.

“Today, the Jews are bleeding in the streets of Australia after the zealous ones answered the call and implemented the recommendations to target holidays and gatherings,” part of the statement says, according to The Australian.

Police are investigating a one-month trip to the Philippines, where Naveed and Sajid allegedly received a form of training.

It comes as the Government ramps up urgent action to tackle hate speech and antisemitism.