Lucy Manning
Special correspondent, reporting from Parliament Square

At a Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony in Parliament Square, London, hundreds of British Jews are gathering to mark the second night of the festival and pray for those killed and injured in the Bondi Beach attack.

The crowd was told that while Hanukkah was normally a celebration, tonight it felt like an act of defiance in light of the murders in Australia.

There were calls at the event - organised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism and the Jewish organisation Chabad - for action, and not just words against antisemitism.

The Hanukkah candles were lit by the nephew of the murdered UK-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger.

But when public health minister Ashley Dalton spoke of her solidarity with the Jewish community, she was repeatedly met with boos and heckles from some of the crowd and cries of "shame", "rubbish" and "stop the marches" in relation to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations which some feel have incited antisemitism.

It is a sign of just how angry some sections of the Jewish community are at what they perceive is the failure to deal with hatred against Jews which has led to attacks against them.

People have been gathering in Parliament Square in central London on Monday evening for a vigil to honour victims of the deadly Bondi shooting.

Falling on the second night of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, the vigil has been organised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism and Chabad UK.

We'll have more on this from our special correspondent Lucy Manning in our next post.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, CHRIS MINNS/FACEBOOK

A fundraiser for Ahmed al Ahmed, the "hero" who tackled one of the Bondi Beach gunmen and wrestled his weapon off him, has raised over A$1 million.

The GoFundMe fundraiser has reached over $1,595,000 (US$1,058,449; £792,069), and could rise even further.

A US billionaire donated $99,999 (US$65,000; £49,000) - the maximum online donation available on the website.

Ahmed, a fruit shop owner, was in the area "by coincidence", having gone out with a friend for coffee, when he encountered the scene.

His father, Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed, says he was "driven by sentiment, conscious and humanity".

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said he was a "real-life hero" after visiting him in hospital.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

In the aftermath of Sunday's deadly shooting, we've been hearing from Australian politicians:

• Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - of the Australian Labor Party - said that a cabinet meeting he convened earlier today was to discuss "the need for tougher gun laws". He added that "people's circumstances change. People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity"
• Australia's Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley - of the Liberal Party - says that "everything must change from today in how governments respond. Antisemitism is not a problem to be managed. It is an evil that must be confronted and eradicated." She also calls for the Albanese to implement "in full" a report published in July by the government's antisemitism envoy Jillian Segel
• Green Party senator David Shoebridge says that tighter gun controls are "not the only answer to the violence we saw", while he welcomes the news that Albanese wants "to take action"
• Senator Sean Bell of the right-wing One Nation Party has called for "anyone who sympathises with radical Islamic terrorism" to be "swiftly detained and, if not Australia citizens, swiftly deported"

Tributes have been paid to some of the victims of Sunday's shooting. At least 15 people have been confirmed dead, but not all have been named:

• Matilda: The 10-year-old - the youngest victim - has been described by one of her former teachers as "a bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to everyone around her"
• Eli Schlanger: The British-born rabbi, 41, was one of the organisers of the event. The father-of-five is remembered by his cousin as a "caring, loving person who would do anything to help another person"
• Peter "Marzo" Meagher: A retired detective sergeant - who had served for 40 years in the NSW Police Force - was working as a freelance photographer at the event. He was "much loved", his rugby club said
• Alexander Kleytman: A Holocaust survivor, he had been attending the Hanukkah celebrations with his children and grandchildren, according to the Jewish organisation Chabad. It said he died shielding his wife
• Dan Elkayam: A French national, he was described as an "extremely talented and popular" football player by his club in Sydney. A friend said he was "always smiling, so friendly and loved by everyone"
• Tibor Weizen: The 78-year-old was a "beloved" member of the Bondi Chabad Synagogue, according to the organisation. Chabad said he was killed trying to shield a family friend
• Marika Pogany: The 82-year-old was remembered as "a terrific person, excellent bridge player, and an even better friend," by her bridge club, the Sydney Morning Herald reported
• Rabbi Yaakov Levitan: He was the secretary of the Sydney Beth Din, a Jewish religious institution, according to Chabad, which described him as a "popular coordinator" of its activities in Sydney
• Reuven Morrison: A longtime Melbourne resident who had migrated to Australia from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s, Chabad said he was "a successful businessman whose main goal was to give away his earnings to charities dear to his heart"

Read more: Who are the Bondi shooting victims?

How extensive is gun ownership in Australia?published at 18:21 GMT 15 December 2025

18:21 GMT 15 December 2025

Image source, Getty Images

By Gerry Georgieva

Gun ownership registration and accompanying data in Australia is decentralised, so there is a lack of official figures to give a clear picture of how many firearms there are in the country.

The independent Australia Institute think tank estimates there are over four million guns as of 2024, external, equating to 15 guns per 100 people.

This is up from an estimated 2.2 million in 2001, a figure which itself had declined by around a million following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre and Australia’s states signing a National Firearms Agreement, external increasing gun regulation.

Following a 2022 shooting, external, in which which one of the perpetrators was able to get ammunition in Queensland despite having his license suspended in New South Wales, the states agreed to work together on a National Firearms Register.

While this register is not yet in place, the idea behind it is that gun crime can be combated more effectively by sharing information around issues like license regulation, gun theft and gun violence.

Image source, Gaël Lubaisha

The BBC has been speaking to the head of a youth association in Le Bourget where Dan Alkayam - one of the victims of Sunday's shooting - was from.

"I have known Dan since he was a kid" says Gaël Lubaisha. 'He was a football fan and participated in a lot of the tournaments we organised."

"He was always smiling, so friendly and loved by everyone. Everyone is in shock over the news".

Lubaisha says Alkayam "has been murdered when he had his whole life before him."

We've been hearing from witnesses throughout the day, who describe hearing gunshots and seeing scores of people running from the beach.

Chavi Block was attending the Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach when she heard "loud, pounding shooting all over the place."

She says she dropped to the ground, using her body as a "human shield" over her baby as "bullets were flying above us".

Kobi Farkash, an Israeli tourist, told the BBC he heard "boom boom boom, four or five times".

He described seeing someone on the ground bleeding - at which point he started running. When he returned an hour later, he saw the emergency services helping those at the scene.

Australian TV personality Lauren Dunn was on the beach during the shooting. She says she thought the sounds were fireworks, or a car backfiring.

It wasn't until police arrived "screaming at us to clear out" that she realised it was an active shooter.

Kian Bentley, who moved to Australia from Stirling a few months ago, said "everything became slow motion" after he heard screams.

"You heard screams in the distance and then everyone in front of me in the cinema just got up and started running," he said, adding "I quickly opened the fence for the back gate and everyone stampeded out".

Earlier, members of Sydney's Jewish community attended an impromptu menorah lighting ceremony, to celebrate the second night of Hanukkah and remember the victims.

Some of the attendees spoke to the BBC:

'They meant a lot': The victims of the beach attack "were significant people in our community who meant a lot and they were, you know, huge figures" says one girl. She adds that one of the victims - Eli Schlanger - "was a teacher of mine and a really close friend of mine's father."

'Shocked, but not entirely surprised': Another man says "there's no one in the community who isn't still stunned." He says a common feeling that "a lot of us have discussed today is that we are shocked but not entirely surprised."

The BBC News Channel has been speaking to London-based Rabbi Bentzi Sudak - who was a friend of Eli Schlanger, one of the victims of Saturday's attack.

"I've known Eli and his family all my life" he says. "The family - not just Eli, but Eli especially - are a really vivacious family, really dedicated to bringing out the good in everybody."

Rabbi Sudak remembers "the bursting joy that he had", adding that Schlanger frequently volunteered to help vulnerable people, including prisons and care homes.

He says the attack is "not going to make us cower, we're not going to allow them to instil fear on us".

Antisemitic incidents in Australia have risen in past two years, report sayspublished at 16:26 GMT 15 December 2025

16:26 GMT 15 December 2025

By Becky Dale and Aidan McNamee

There is no centralised system of tracking hate crime events in Australia - each state and territory manages its own definitions and responses.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), which advocates nationally on behalf of Australian Jews, has published annual reports since 1990 on the number of antisemitic incidents occurring across the country.

The latest report, external says the number of incidents has risen in the past two years, which the ECAJ says is also likely to be an incomplete picture due to under-reporting.

Incidents peaked at 2,062 in the year covering October 2023 to September 2024.

In the following year to September 2025, recorded incidents fell slightly but remained high at 1,652, still more than three times higher than the highest annual count recorded before the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The types of incidents they include are physical and verbal abuse, vandalism, public graffiti, posters or stickers, and threatening messages in letters or emails to Jewish individuals or institutions. Messages sent on social media are recorded separately.

In the year ending September 2025, the ECAJ identified verbal abuse and public messaging such as graffiti, posters and stickers as the two largest categories of incident.

Sajid and Naveed Akram, who killed 15 people on Bondi Beach in an attack on the Jewish community on Sunday, had told their family they were on a fishing trip.

Naveed's mother, Verena, told the Sydney Morning Herald, external as police swarmed the family home, that she had a conversation with her son on Sunday - the day of the attack.

She says: "He rings me up and said: ‘Mum, I just went for a swim. I went scuba diving. We’re going... to eat now, and then this morning, and we’re going to stay home now because it’s very hot’."

According to the paper, sources suggest Naveed is showing signs he will survive his injuries. As a reminder, he remains in hospital in a critical condition following the attack.

The parents of 10-year-old victim Matilda have been seen in pictures, supplied by Getty Images, attending a memorial at Bondi Pavilion on Monday.

Local media report more than 1,000 people gathered at the site to lay flowers and to witness the lighting of a menorah.

Matilda has been described as a "bright, joyful, and spirited child" by one of her teachers - you can read more about her.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

It's been more than 28 hours since two gunmen shot and killed 15 people on Bondi Beach, Sydney, in a targeted attack on the Jewish community. Here's what we know:

The attack

• At 18.47 local time (07:47 GMT) on Sunday, two gunmen opened fire at Jewish people celebrating the first night of Hanukkah
• Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, a bystander, ran at one of the gunmen and seized his weapon before forcing his retreat
• One of the gunmen, 50-year old Sajid Akram, died at the scene while his 24-year old son Naveed Akram was taken to hospital in a critical condition, where he remains

The victims

• Matilda, 10, is the youngest victim. Her aunt told ABC News that her niece was a happy child with lots of friends
• British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, a former police officer, footballer Dan Elkayam and Slovakian national Marika are also among the dead - we've taken a closer look at who the victims are

The gunmen

• Sajid Akram and his son Naveed lived in Bonnyrigg, New South Wales, but police said they prepared for the attack at a short-term rental property closer to Bondi Beach
• They had both pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese said the attackers were "motivated by extremist ideology"
• Australian-born Naveed had come to authorities' attention in 2019, but an assessment found "there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence"

• Sajid, who died at the scene of the attack, is said to have had been part of a gun club, owning a firearms license for recreational shooting

And, we've heard from witnesses. Chavi, 27, tells the BBC she dropped to the ground with her baby as "bullets were flying above us", while Israeli tourist Kobi Farkash said "I heard boom boom boom, four or five times".

Image source, Daily Mail

We can now bring you this photo of one of the gunmen - named in local media as Naveed Akram, 24 - during the attack.

In the image, he is holding a gun alongside what appears to be another weapon and ammunition. He is standing on the footbridge which, accounts of the attack suggest, he used as a vantage point.

He carried out the attack alongside his 50-year-old father, Sajid, who was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the scene. Naveed remains in hospital with critical injuries.

Naveed is an Australian-born citizen. He first came to authorities' attention in October 2019, but the Australian prime minister said an "assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence".

His father arrived in Australia on a student visa in 1998, which was transferred in 2001 to a partner visa and later resident return visas.

Local media reported that both men pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Image source, Andy Rain/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Downing Street says Jewish people in the UK are living in fear.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Keir Starmer's official spokesman says the prime minister has "resolved to stand with Jews in Britain".

He adds there will be a "more visible security presence" at Hanukkah events.

Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch tells broadcasters she is "absolutely horrified" by the shooting, adding that "antisemitism is on the rise" and there should be a "robust response".

"We need to make sure that we stop this targeting of Jewish people... we've said 'never again' so many times. Let's actually prove it," she adds.

Image source, Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Chavi Block

I've spoken to Chavi, 27, who was attending the Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach on Sunday when the shooting happened.

The high school teacher tells me she dropped to the ground to protect her baby as "bullets were flying above us".

“I was very close to a gunman," she says, and remembers hearing "loud, pounding shooting all over the place."

“People got murdered around me, just metres away from me. I used my body as a human shield and I was trying to not suffocate the baby, he was screaming and his face was red.

"I kept thinking, if the bullet will come, at least it will come onto me. I was wondering if this was my last day."

She tells me that "it went on for so long, we said prayers while lying on the ground. I was totally focused on trying to protect my baby".

Chavi says three of her close friends were killed.

After the shooting, injured people were lying on the ground around her. She grabbed two of her friend’s children to take them away to safety as they were separated from their parents in the attack.

She tells me the children later learned their father was killed.

Is it unusual for people to own multiple firearms in New South Wales?published at 13:23 GMT 15 December 2025

13:23 GMT 15 December 2025

Image source, Reuters

By Gerry Georgieva

Australia’s New South Wales Police confirmed that one of the gunmen at Bondi Beach - the 50-year-old Sajid Akram - owned six registered firearms and held a recreation category A/B gun licence.

This is not unusual for the state.

Getting a licence in New South Wales simply requires that the person is over 18, is fit, has completed a training and safety course and has provided a “genuine reason” for needing one.

The "genuine reasons", external for category A/B licences, which are for recreational shooters, cover a variety of activities like sport shooting, hunting and pest control.

There’s no limit on the number of guns such a licensee can have and one individual was even recorded to own 298 firearms as of June.

Latest statistics for August shows that 259,107 licence holders had over 1.14 million guns across the state, meaning that the average licensee owned more than four guns. Over 973,000 of the registered firearms were category A/B.

For a state with 8.58 million people, that equates to 13 guns per 100 people.

Image source, Reuters

Pope Leo XIV says in a statement that he wishes to "entrust to the Lord the victims of the terrorist massacre carried out yesterday in Sydney against the Jewish community".

He adds: "Enough with this antisemitic violence! Let us eliminate hatred from our hearts."

The pontiff also asks people to pray together for everyone who suffers as a result of war or violence.

Abdelrahman Abutaleb
BBC News Arabic

Image source, Mohamed Kfarnabel

Ahmed al Ahmed, the bystander who disarmed one of the gunmen during the Bondi Beach attack in Sydney, acted out of “pure conscience and humanity,” his family tells BBC News Arabic.

His father, Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed, says his son did not hesitate when he saw people being attacked.

“Ahmed was driven by his sentiment, conscience and humanity when he rushed forward, stopped the gunman, and snatched his weapon,” he says.

He adds that Ahmed had been nearby “by coincidence,” having gone out with a friend for coffee, when he encountered the scene.

“He saw the victims, the blood, women and children lying on the street, and then acted,” his father says.

According to the family, Ahmed’s condition is stable, and he is awaiting further medical treatment for gunshot wounds to his shoulder and hand sustained during the attack.

Image source, FACEBOOK/CHRIS MINNS

In Syria, where Ahmed was born and raised, his uncle Mohamed Ahmed al Ahmed tells BBC Arabic that the family felt immense pride.

“He made us proud, our village, Syria, all Muslims and the entire world,” he says.