An ISIS flag was found in the vehicle used by the terrorists in the Sydney terrorist attack. The terrorists, a father and son of Pakistani origin, were believed by Australian intelligence to have been connected to the terrorist organization's activity in the country, according to a report overnight by the local ABC network.
According to the report, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation examined one of the terrorists, Naveed Akram, 24, who was wounded during an exchange of fire with police, six years ago over suspected ties to an ISIS cell in Sydney.
The review began shortly after the arrest of Issak al-Mattari in July 2019, an ISIS terrorist who planned a "revolt" in Australia and was identified as the group's commander in the country. Counterterrorism sources said Akram was closely linked to al-Mattari and to others in the cell who were later convicted of terrorism offenses.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said Sunday that one of the attackers had been known to the agency, but added it was not in the context of an "immediate threat," and that authorities needed to examine what had happened.
The father, Sajid Akram, 50, a fruit shop owner, had held a firearms license for at least a decade and owned six registered weapons, all of which were found at the scene. Sajid was killed in the exchange of fire with police. Improvised explosive devices were also found in the attackers' vehicle and were dismantled by bomb disposal teams.
Dramatic footage from the attack shows the son standing on a bridge near the lawn where the Hanukkah celebration was being held, firing rapidly with a shotgun. The father was seen advancing toward the revelers and shooting until he was subdued by a civilian who happened to be nearby, leapt on him with courage and disarmed him. The civilian was identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed.
Australian media reported that Naveed had worked as a construction laborer until about two months ago, when the company that employed him collapsed. Screenshots circulating on social media show him marking the completion of studies at a local religious institution.
The family lived in the suburb of Bonnyrigg in western Sydney with the parents and two younger siblings. Police raided the home after the attack, and a video circulating on social media showed two people exiting the house with their hands raised.
The mother, Verna, was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as police surrounded her home: "He has no weapon. He doesn't even go out. He doesn't drink, doesn't smoke. Anyone would want a son like mine, he's a good boy." She said she was unable to identify her son from images published from the scene.
Describing her last conversation with him on Sunday morning, she said: "He called and said: Mom, I went swimming. I did a dive. We're going to eat now, and then we'll stay home because it's very hot."
Fifteen people were killed in the attack and 38 wounded, some in critical condition. The victims' ages ranged from 10 to 87, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said. Two of the wounded died overnight in Sydney hospitals.
Australian media identified 10-year-old Matilda as one of those killed, without giving her surname. She was reported to be a student at the local Russian school, and a former teacher described her as "a radiant, joyful child full of life." Her aunt wrote on social media: "A great tragedy has happened to my family. My beloved niece Matilda was murdered in a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach. I don't know how one survives such grief."
Alex Kleytman
A Holocaust survivor born in Ukraine, about 80, was killed while shielding his wife, Larisa, with his body. The couple had been married for about 50 years and left behind two children and 11 grandchildren. Larisa told the Daily Mail: "We were standing there and suddenly there was 'boom, boom,' and everyone fell. I think he was shot because he raised himself to protect me. A bullet hit his head." Speaking outside the hospital, she was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald: "I have no husband. I don't know where his body is. No one can give me an answer."
Rabbi Eli Schlanger
Schlanger, 41, a British-born assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi since 2008, was the organizer of the event at which he was killed. He was married and the father of five, the youngest an infant. In September, after Australia recognized a Palestinian state, he sent a public letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: "As a rabbi in Sydney, I beg you not to betray the Jewish people."
His father-in-law and community rabbi Yoram Ullman delivered a tearful eulogy before worshippers at the morning prayer service. "All the terrorists want to do is suffocate our lives as Jews, to bring us down, to destroy us, to make us lose hope," he said, wiping away tears. "They are looking at us now and waiting to see whether we continue, whether we ensure that everything they worked for continues even stronger. Now is the time to unite, to forget the small things that happened between us in the community."
Dan Elkayam
Elkayam, 27, arrived in Australia from France about a year ago and worked at a high-tech company. The local football club where he played wrote: "He was a talented and deeply loved figure. Our heartfelt condolences to Dan's family, his friends and everyone who knew him. He will be missed."
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed the nation's "full solidarity" with his family, and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote: "This criminal act is another tragic expression of the shocking surge of antisemitic hatred. The lights of Hanukkah do not go out, and will not go out."
Reuben Morrison
A businessman who emigrated from the Soviet Union, Morrison discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney and became a pillar of the city's Chabad community, according to local media. He split his time between Sydney, where he ran his businesses, and Melbourne, where he lived with his wife and daughter, Shayna.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Bondi Beach in the morning after ordering Australian flags lowered to half-staff following the attack. "Australia will not be divided by hate or violence," he wrote on X. "We will confront this head-on and stand together in solidarity with Australian Jews and with each other."
Opposition Leader Susan Ley accused Albanese of allowing antisemitism to "spread" and of failing to protect Australian Jews. "Everything must change from today," she said. "We have seen public sites turn into symbols of antisemitic hatred. We have seen campuses taken over and Jewish students made to feel afraid. We have seen synagogues torched at the direction of foreign terrorist states."
Gillian Segal, the government-appointed envoy to combat antisemitism, also said Australia had not been strong enough. "Sadly, I have to say I held my breath out of fear that something like this would happen," she told ABC. "From October 9, when we saw that hatred at the protest at the Sydney Opera House that was not stopped, then the extreme demonstrations at the Harbour Bridge, and now Bondi Beach."
Throughout the day, many residents came to the scene to lay flowers and pay their respects to the victims. At the same time, New South Wales Police announced a special operation to bolster security around synagogues, schools and other Jewish community institutions.
