Helen Sullivan
Reporting from Bondi Beach

As we reported earlier, funerals for some of the attack's 15 victims will start taking place on Wednesday.

In Judaism, bodies are usually buried within 24 hours of death, Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin told the BBC.

But because the victims of the Bondi attack died of unnatural causes, they are being held for longer than this by the coroner's office as part of investigations into the attack - something that is adding to the distress of many families.

“The funerals are an awful, awful thing that we're gonna have to go through as a community. But it's the beginning of something,” Ryvchin said.

After the burials, the victims’ loved ones will sit Shiva for seven days, a period Ryvchin explained as, “the most intense mourning period where we sit and come to terms with our grief".

There will then be 30 more days of mourning. The mourning rituals last a year, he said.

“So until burial, we can't begin that. And that's made it really, really painful for everybody," he said.

Image source, EPA

Leader of the Australian opposition Sussan Ley has called for the government to implement the recommendations from a recent report from Australia's envoy for antisemitism in full.

The report, released in July, found that antisemitism in Australia had reached a "tipping point that threatens social harmony".

It recommended changes such as removing funding from institutions failing to act against antisemitism, screening visa applicants for antisemitic views, and better moderating of content online. The review has not yet been acted on.

"For two years, Jewish Australians have been warning that antisemitism is rising and that their lives have been made harder, day after day," Ley said.

"Those warnings were not heeded," she claimed.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government is "prepared to take whatever action is necessary" after the Bondi shooting. He told ABC news that Australians "overwhelmingly stand" with the Jewish community.

The prime minister has also said the government was already implementing recommendations from the report, including legislating against hate speech and Nazi symbols.

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The Bondi Beach attack has spurred Australian politicians to call for greater action on tackling antisemitism, with incidents having risen in recent years.

• The federal Coalition has launched a taskforce into antisemitism, extremism and counter terrorism, with opposition leader Sussan Ley saying "for too long, antisemitism has been allowed to grow in plain sight"
• Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who is Jewish, told a podcast that "Jewish Australians have had our foundations rocked here about what it means to live in this country" for the past few years, even before Israel's offensive in Gaza in response to the 7 October, 2023, attacks by Hamas
• Labor MP Josh Burns, who is also Jewish, told ABC News that all people in leadership positions should "take this moment to confront [antisemitism] in all its different manifestations"
• Julian Hill, assistant minister for citizenship, customs and multicultural affairs, told Radio 4's Today programme that the government was putting "every resource" into making sure Jewish communities are safe - and feel safe too
• Yesterday, Former PM Tony Abbott told Radio 4's Today programme that there has been "far too much tolerance" of anti-Jewish hate speech in Australia

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday that his government was the first to outlaw hate speech, as part of its response to antisemitism in Australia.

Image source, GoFundMe

The youngest victim of the Bondi attack was a "ray of sunshine" with a "radiant smile and infectious laugh", 10-year-old Matilda's school has said in a tribute.

"We watched Matilda reach every single goal she set out to achieve and we were so proud of her," reads the statement from La Perouse School, in Sydney's south, which adds that Matilda was "deeply respected and loved by both students and staff alike".

"We all have so many beautiful memories of her - from choreographing dances on the playground to K-Pop Demon Hunters, losing her glasses that were actually on her head, to facing her fears and bravely presenting her speech in front of her classmates, Matilda has a strength and joy for life that we will always cherish and remember."

Matilda’s family were among the thousands of people who attended a vigil to honour those killed earlier today.

Image source, Reuters

Hours ago, when the sun went down over Bondi Beach, candles could be seen lighting up makeshift memorials at the site where 15 people lost their lives in one of Australia's deadliest mass shootings.

A photo of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim of the attack, could be seen lying on the ground surrounded by flowers and candles.

Earlier today, Matilda’s family were among the thousands of people who attended a vigil to honour those killed.

Her father was seen carrying a framed photograph of his daughter and both Matilda’s parents addressed the crowd.

“It wasn't just a bullet from a stray,” her mother told those listening. “It wasn't an accident."

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, Reuters

Joel Guinto
Live reporter

As we've been reporting today, there have been reports that the alleged gunmen in Sunday's Bondi Beach attack received "military-style training" in the Philippines. This comes after years of relative quiet on the extremist front in the South East Asian nation.

Militants pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group seized Marawi, a major southern city, in 2017, sparking a five-month-long urban war with armed forces in the Philippines. But since then, insurgent activity in the country’s south has abated significantly.

A peace accord struck with the country's largest Muslim rebel group remains in effect, although authorities do say they are continuing to chase "terrorist" groups.

The southern island of Mindanao is home to the Muslim minority in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines. Poverty and decades of neglect by leaders in Manila in the north have been blamed for the insurgency in the region.

Davao, where Sajid Akram, 50, reportedly travelled with his son Naveed, 24, is Mindanao's commercial centre and most populous city.

It is also the region's jumping-off point for the island's central and south-western regions where extremist groups have operated in the past.

Rules around firearms were toughened up in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, which saw 35 people killed and scores more injured by lone gunman Martin Bryant.

The deadly attack in Tasmania prompted sweeping gun reforms across Australia, which included:

• Rapid-fire weapons, such as semi-automatic rifles and pump shotguns, were banned
• A 28-day waiting period was also introduced during which a prospective buyer's background is checked
• People also had to start providing a "justifiable reason" for owning a gun - this can include for farming, recreational hunting or pest control
• The Australian government has also overseen two national gun amnesties: one in the aftermath of the Port Arthur attack, and another in 2017 - this is where citizens hand over illegally-owned firearms to authorities without fear of persecution

Image source, Fairfax Media via Getty Images

A gun control advocacy organisation established after Australia's largest mass shooting is calling for another overhaul of gun laws.

The Alannah & Madeline Foundation, named after two of the child victims of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, has published a nine-point plan recommending fresh changes to gun ownership.

Among the recommendations are a cap on the number of firearms per person, "robust licensing renewal processes" and an end to gun licences exclusively for recreational hunting.

"This tragic event is a sobering reminder of the need for vigilance in upholding our gun laws," said the foundation, set up by Walter Mikac, the father of two girls, aged three and six, who died along with 33 others in the Tasmania mass shooting.

The foundation added it was "encouraging" that NSW premier Chris Minns and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese "expressed their willingness to review our existing gun laws."

"Australia has led the world before – we can, and must, do so again," it said.

Image source, Supplied

Funerals for some of the attack's 15 victims will start taking place on Wednesday, Chabad has confirmed.

A service for British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, will take place mid-morning local time at Chabad of Bondi. The surrounding road will be shut due to expected crowds, and people will be able to attend remotely.

Later in the day, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan's funeral will take place at Macquarie Park Cemetery in north Sydney.

Chabad says details of services for the other 13 victims will be shared once confirmed.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

We've just had an update from the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, which says that almost 50,000 appointments were booked to donate blood across Australia yesterday.

It comes following an appeal for blood donations after Sunday's shootings.

Among the 49,322 appointments made nationally, more than 20,000 were in the state of New South Wales.

Yesterday, we saw lines of people queuing to donate - some told us they had waited for hours but added that it "doesn't matter how long it takes".

More than 7,800 donations were made across the country yesterday - including more than 2,500 in NSW.

It's now more than 50 hours since the first shots rang out on Bondi Beach, where two gunmen targeting the Jewish community opened fire on a group who had gathered to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah.

Fifteen people were killed - some of whom, as we've since learned, lost their lives trying to wrestle the weapons from the attackers.

Ten minutes after the attack began, police issued a statement telling people to take shelter. Some were able to do so, like Amit Moas, who told us earlier today how he hid in a toilet after seeing the two alleged gunmen on a bridge overlooking the park.

A number of individuals are now known to have risked their own safety in a bid to save others.

Ahmed al Ahmed ran at one of the gunmen and seized his weapon before forcing him to retreat. Ahmed remains in hospital after being seriously injured.

Dashcam footage has also emerged, which shows married couple Boris and Sofia Gurman attempting to tackle a gunman at the roadside. Their family has since confirmed they were among the 15 victims.

And the daughter of Reuven Morrison, who was also killed in the attack, told CBS News her father had thrown bricks at the attacker before being shot dead.

By 19:39 local time on Sunday, two individuals were in custody. Naveed and Sajid Akram are alleged to have carried out the attack.

Sajid was found dead at the scene, while Naveed was taken to hospital with Australian media reporting this morning that he had regained consciousness.

Image source, Getty Images

Lifesaving-trained members of Bondi and North Bondi Beach surf life-saving clubs are no strangers to aiding beachgoers in a crisis, but its volunteers stepped up in the face of Sunday's mass shooting.

Speaking to 7News Melbourne, Bondi Beach Surf Life Saving Club president Liz Webb said her teams had been at a Christmas party nearby when they heard the shooting begin.

"Some of our members ran into the playground to get the children and the parents out and bring them into our club for safety," she said.

Other members were "first on the scene", she said, describing how volunteers administered first aid and helped other emergency responders.

President of the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club Steve Larnach told 7News Melbourne that his members helped at least five gunshot victims, and provided support to paramedics.

"So everyone worked very well together," he said.

Another of the 15 people killed, Edith Brutman, was "a woman of integrity, who chose humanity, every day", her family has said.

"She met prejudice with principle, and division with service," reads the family statement earlier reported by ABC News.

"Our family mourns her deeply, but we ask that her life, not the senseless violence that took it, be what endures.

"We hope her memory calls us as a nation back to decency, courage, and peace."

Image source, JNF Australia / Facebook

Marianne Baisnée
BBC News

Image source, HANDOUT

I have been speaking to friends of Dan Elkayam, a French national who was killed in the shooting on Bondi Beach.

Gaël Lubaisha, who has known Dan Elkayam since his childhood, leads a youth association in the Parisian suburbs. It is here where Dan - a keen football player - often took part in tournaments.

"He was always smiling, so friendly and loved by everyone," he says, adding Elkayam was "murdered when he had his all life before him."

Ben Albrecht, a friend of Elkayam's who lives in Sydney, tells me that "everyone who knew him loved him".

"Dan was full of life. He was a hard worker, a funny guy and generally made work more pleasant in his presence," Albrecht says.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Jesse Lenn

I’ve spoken to Jesse Lenn, a first responder who arrived at the scene around 7pm.

He tells me that as soon as he arrived he started assessing who could be treated and who had died, describing the scene as like a "war zone".

“We saw a lot of people with gunshot wounds," says Lenn, who runs a team of volunteer paramedics and first responders called Community Health Support.

“We found someone unconscious but breathing and we put an airway into their mouth and moved onto the next one”.

He says he started treating a man lying on the ground and who was in a lot of pain.

"It was horrible," Lenn says. “He had two gunshot wounds to his arm. He was in and out of consciousness, and I tried to reassure him and told him more help was on the way. I’m not sure if he was able to understand what we were saying.”

Lenn also describes seeing injured children. "It was hard to differentiate between an injured child and a terrified child, so we had to quickly assess that. A lot of kids were looking for their parents.”

Ambulances started to arrive and Jesse and his team helped people into them.

“Members of the public in speedos and bikinis who had just come off the beach were also trying to help assist the injured,” he says.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

An increased police presence remains in place in Sydney in response to Sunday's mass shooting.

This includes a patrolling helicopter flying low above the scene of the attack and more police on the ground than usual, New South Wales Police have said.

Our reporters in Australia have also spotted the helicopter using search lights over the nearby area.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier today, the mother and father of the youngest victim from Sunday's attack, Matilda, were among the thousands of people who attended a vigil to honour those killed.

Matilda's father was seen carrying a photograph of his 10-year-old daughter.

"We came here from Ukraine and Matilda was our first born in Australia," her father told the crowd.

"I thought Matilda was the most Australian name."

Her mother spoke next, describing how she brought her older son to Australia from Ukraine.

"I was so happy he is not there fighting right now," she said. "He is safe here."

It was difficult to hear the rest of her remarks between her heavy sobs.

She added that the alleged attacker "just pulled his trigger on her, I don't know, it wasn't just a bullet from a stray - it wasn't an accident."

We can now bring you details from Indian police after authorities said that one of the alleged gunmen, Sajid Akram, travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport in the weeks before the attack.

A Telangana Police official says Akram is originally from Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana state in southern India.

He moved to Australia in 1998 to pursue employment, the official says, subsequently marrying and settling permanently in the country.

Akram has had "limited contact" with his family back in Hyderabad since his move, according to information given to Indian police by his relatives - but he had returned to India six times primarily for family-related reasons.

"The family members have expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation," the police official adds.

They say Telangana Police "has no adverse record against Sajid Akram" before his departure in 1998.

As a reminder, Australian police confirmed that Akram was found dead at the scene of Sunday's attack. The second alleged gunman - his son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram - is reported to have woken up from his coma in hospital.

Thousands of Australians have been lining up to donate blood following Sunday's mass shooting.

Since the attack, there have been 50,000 appointments made to give blood in New South Wales, the region's premier Chris Minns said.

"I'm very happy to report that there has been 50,000 appointments to give blood in New South Wales, which I understand is a fivefold increase," he said.

Yesterday alone saw a total of 7,810 donations of blood, plasma and platelets made across Australia, Lifeblood Australia said earlier.

• Lifeblood has since clarified to the BBC that almost 50,000 appointments were made to donate blood nationally yesterday - more than 20,000 of which were in NSW

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, Reuters

As night has now fallen in Sydney, we're now seeing Christmas light displays in the city get replaced with white lights, which the city has said is being done out of respect to those affected by the Bondi attack.

Displays began turning white on Monday 15 December, and the city's social media account issued an update earlier today saying they will remain that way until Saturday 20 December.

"Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Take care of yourself. Take care of each other," it says, listing mental health support lifelines.