Massacre at Bondi Beach, media: the two killers linked to Isis. What we know

Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia said: 'The Jewish community is in shock. There were 2,000 members of the Jewish community celebrating Hanukkah and lighting the first candle together at Bondi Beach. We are on high alert'.

Iran has joined a number of Middle Eastern countries, including Qatar and Lebanon, in condemning today's armed attack on Sydney's Bondi beach that left at least 11 people dead. Haaretz reports that. "Wherever it occurs, the murder and killing of human beings are reprehensible acts and to be condemned," an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, expressing Tehran's condemnation of the shooting.

"We saw evil at its lowest level and we also saw Jewish heroism at its highest level. On my way here, I saw a video of a Jew pouncing on one of the murderers, wresting his weapon away from him and saving who knows how many lives,' said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reported it on Ynet, which, however, points out that Ahmaed al Ahmed is not Jewish. The Austrian TV 7 News and other local media identify him as a Muslim, aged 43, and father of two.

On X the profile of the Australian Jewish Association shared videos of the shooting and the bodies of the victims lying on the beach. According to several Australian media reports, the two men were dressed in black and had semi-automatic rifles, according to witnesses. In some of the pictures published by the different media, several bullets can be seen on the ground and also a shotgun (not a semi-automatic weapon) abandoned on the ground.

'We thought it was fireworks, but it wasn't, it was something much worse'. Elizabeth Mealey, a former journalist, who was dining at the Icebergs restaurant in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, when she heard gunshots, told Abc News. 'People started running towards the beach, it was panic. People were just standing there not knowing what was going on, it's scary." "We felt like it took a long time to hear a siren, now a helicopter and an ambulance is coming," she added, "It's pandemonium and we really don't know what's going on. The witness recounted seeing people running from North Bondi towards South End to get away from what they heard. "Eventually we heard what sounded like another type of gunfire, which we hoped and assumed was police gunfire, and then it got a little quieter," she added. "At this point, we assume it's over, but no one really knows," he said. "It's terrifying."

Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said that Australia 'threw fuel on the fire of anti-Semitism' before the Sydney attack, recalling that he sent a letter in August to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. This was reported in the Times of Israel. Paraphrasing his letter, Netanyahu says that Albanese's policies, which include recognition of a Palestinian state, encourage 'the Jew-hatred that now infests your streets. Anti-Semitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders remain silent. You must replace weakness with action'.

Netanyahu states that the attack was 'terrible. A cold-blooded murder. The number of victims unfortunately increases by the minute. We have seen the depths of evil. We also saw the pinnacle of Jewish heroism,' he says, pointing to a bystander he says was Jewish, who was filmed snatching a weapon from the hands of one of the attackers. "We are engaged in a battle against global anti-Semitism and the only way to fight it is to denounce it and fight it," Netanyahu continued, "There is no other way. That is what we are doing in Israel. The Israel Defense Forces and our security forces, with our government and our nation, we will continue to do so." Netanyahu further states, "We will continue to denounce those who do not denounce, but encourage. We will continue to ask them to do what is required of the leaders of free nations. We will not give up, we will not lower our heads, we will continue to fight as our forefathers did."

"The scenes at Bondi are shocking and distressing. Police and rescue workers are on the ground working to save lives. My thoughts are with all those affected." This was said by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The Guardian reports. "I have just spoken to the Afp Commissioner and the Nsw Premier. We are working with the police and will provide further updates as more information is confirmed. I urge people in the vicinity to follow the police information."

We are 'shocked by the tragic attack at Bondi Beach, I offer my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. Europe stands with Australia and Jewish communities around the world. We are united against violence, anti-Semitism and hatred'. This was stated on social media by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

'Dumbfounded we receive the news from Sydney about the shooting during the lighting of Hanuccah at a community event. First, our sorrowful embrace to the local Jewish Community to the families of the victims and the injured. Grief turns to anger at the thought of so many appeals made to curb hatred and violence, to warn that the danger is within our cities'. So says Noemi Di Segni, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (Ucei).