Terrorist attack in Sydney on Hanukkah

Two attackers opened fire on the beach. More than 10 people died. One shooter was disarmed by a passerby

On December 14, a shooting occurred in Sydney near Bondi Beach (also known as Bondi Beach). According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), eyewitnesses said two men dressed in black opened fire while standing on a small pedestrian bridge. Videos appeared online showing the attackers.

The shooting happened on the first day of Hanukkah, a Jewish religious holiday celebrated this year from December 14 to 22. On Sunday evening in Sydney (when the shooting began local time), the first candle lighting ceremony took place.

One eyewitness said that he heard about 50 shots. According to another witness, the shooting continued for about 10 minutes. He described the scene as "hell on Earth."

Two witnesses told ABC ( 1 , 2 ) that they initially mistook the shots for fireworks or firecrackers. According to one of them, Finn, the shooter opened fire while in a white car. Finn saw an elderly woman killed. Eyewitness Heather Nolan said she had dinner with her husband and children near the beach. She and her family hid behind a bench in the locker room. One of the wounded approached them; according to the woman, he was covered in blood.

There appeared to be two attackers - although police later said they were investigating the possibility of three shooters. One of them was killed, the second was detained, police said. According to updated data , the detainee is in critical condition. A video was published on social networks in which one of the attackers was allegedly disarmed by an eyewitness. It is unknown whether the shooter was subsequently killed or detained.

News.com.au has named the bystander who disarmed one of the shooters. This is 43-year-old fruit stall owner and father of two children, Ahmed al-Ahmed, who lives in Sydney. He allegedly had no prior experience with weapons and was walking past the beach when the shooting started.

Ahmed's relatives told Australian television channel Channel 7 that the man received two bullet wounds and is now in hospital. “He's in the hospital and we don't know exactly what's happening to him. We really hope that everything will be okay with him. He is a hero one hundred percent,” said Ahmed’s relative.

A video has gone viral on social media showing Ahmed, supposedly after a fight with the shooter, sitting on the ground while other passers-by are trying to stop the bleeding - the man was allegedly wounded in the leg.

Chris Minns, premier of New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, said at a news conference that 12 people were killed in the shooting. He called the incident an attack on Sydney's Jewish community. State Police Commissioner Mel Layon said 29 were injured, including two police officers. Layon described the shooting as a terrorist attack. One child was among the victims, the commissioner added . According to preliminary data, there are no children among the dead.

Israeli journalist Naftali Hanania writes that Rabbi Eli Schlanger was killed in the shooting. According to Newsru.co.il, among the victims is the chairman of the Israel-Australia Council, Arsen Ostrovsky, who was wounded in the head.

The Russian Consulate General in Sydney told TASS that there is no information about casualties among Russians. The Shot telegram channel, close to the security forces, claims that shortly before the shooting began, a couple from Sochi left the beach.

A senior ABC police source named one of the attackers as Narvid Akram. His home in the Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg is being searched. News.com.au police sources believe the attack was months in the making.

The operation at the scene of the shooting continues, and police urged people to avoid the area. According to the latest reports, an improvised explosive device was found there. Police urged anyone who took video of the shooting on a phone or dash cam to hand over the footage to law enforcement.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the Sydney shooting "shocking and disturbing." He convened a meeting of the National Security Committee with the participation of ministers.

“We pray for the recovery of the wounded... and we pray for those who lost their lives,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said . He called on the Australian government to take action to combat "the enormous wave of anti-Semitism that is plaguing Australian society." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled his criticism of Albanese. In August, Netanyahu wrote to his Australian counterpart that Australia's intention to recognize a Palestinian state "adds fuel to the fire of anti-Semitism."

The attack was condemned by the Australian Council of Imams. “These acts of violence and crime have no place in our society. Those responsible must be held fully accountable and subjected to the full rigors of the law,” the council said in a statement. The authorities of Lebanon, Qatar and Iran also condemned the terrorist attack. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry declared its “categorical rejection of all forms of violence, terrorism and extremism.”

Britain's King Charles III said he and Queen Camila were "shocked and saddened by the horrific anti-Semitic terrorist attack against Jews" celebrating Hanukkah. The attack in Sydney was condemned by the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Prime Ministers of Sweden and Norway Ulf Kristersson and Jonas Gahr Støre, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez and other leaders.

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