Father and Son Kill 16 People in Sydney Hanukkah Beach Massacre

A father and son turned Bondi Beach into a war zone Sunday night, opening fire on hundreds gathered for a Hanukkah celebration in what officials are calling a deliberate act of terror against Australia’s Jewish community.

Police confirmed 16 people are dead, including one of the shooters, and at least 40 more are injured, among them two police officers. Witnesses described scenes of chaos as bullets tore through the crowd during the lighting of the first candle on the Menorah — part of the annual “Chanukah by the Sea” celebration.

“It was pure horror,” said witness Daniel Katz, 33, who had brought his two children to the event. “People were singing, then suddenly it was screams and gunfire. You could smell the gunpowder in the air.”

According to New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon, the gunmen were a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son — both Australian citizens. The father was killed at the scene, while the son remains in critical condition under police guard at a Sydney hospital.

Authorities say the attack began around 6:45 p.m. local time, nearly two hours after the celebration started. Police believe the father and son arrived armed with multiple rifles — all legally owned and registered to the elder shooter.

“All six of the firearms have now been accounted for,” Commissioner Lanyon told reporters. “Some were recovered at the scene, and others were seized following search warrants executed at two locations overnight.”

Officials confirmed the shooting was a targeted attack on the Jewish community. Investigators found improvised explosive devices inside a vehicle parked near the beach, prompting the deployment of the bomb disposal unit.

“This was an intentional act of terror,” Lanyon said. “We are not seeking any additional suspects at this stage.”

Sources within the investigation told local media that intelligence agencies had been monitoring online threats toward Jewish events in the weeks leading up to Hanukkah — but no specific warning was issued for Bondi Beach.

The attack has drawn immediate condemnation from Israeli officials. President Isaac Herzog, speaking at an event in Jerusalem on Sunday night, called the massacre “a cruel assault on Jews who simply came to celebrate light over darkness.”

“Our hearts go out to our sisters and brothers in Sydney,” Herzog said. “The entire nation of Israel prays for the wounded and mourns the lives lost.”

Herzog also urged Australia to confront what he described as a “dangerous rise in antisemitism.”

“The world must act decisively against this plague,” he said.

The attack marks Australia’s deadliest act of domestic terrorism in more than two decades, and the worst assault on Jewish civilians since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to address the nation Monday morning. Security has been increased at synagogues, Jewish schools, and community centers across New South Wales.

Rabbi Levi Wolff, one of the organizers of the Bondi Beach event, said the community is “heartbroken but unbroken.”

“They tried to silence us with fear,” Wolff told reporters. “But Hanukkah is about light overcoming darkness. We will light the candles again.”