The latest tragic toll, which is being updated hourly, stands at 15 dead and 38 injured in the massacre that took place yesterday at Bondi Beach, the famous beach in Sydney, Australia: at least 50 gunshots were fired at families gathered on the seashore to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah , the Festival of Lights. It is one of the worst anti-Semitic hate attacks outside of Israel.

Two men, a father and son, opened fire on the crowd: one was killed, the young man seriously injured . They were neutralized by police intervention and by the courage of a passerby, who disarmed one of the attackers with his bare hands . But first, the attackers had time to unleash terror: among the victims were Sydney Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a 12-year-old girl, and a Holocaust survivor . Two police officers are in critical condition.

A carnage that could have been even worse: the police found crude explosive devices on a vehicle in the area of the attack.

Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, the two attackers, told their family they were going fishing. Instead, they reached a rented apartment where they moved their arsenal: several legally purchased weapons and some rudimentary explosive devices. It was their outpost from which they set out to carry out the massacre.

According to the reconstruction, the two had pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2019, but despite this, Naveed had a valid gun license. "One of these individuals was known to us, but not in terms of an immediate threat," Canberra's intelligence agency said. Two women were also taken away by police. The investigation is ongoing.

" An act of vicious anti-Semitism that has struck the nation to the heart ," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commented. "The evil that was unleashed on Bondi Beach is incomprehensible."

Australia and its Jewish community have received solidarity from major international leaders, along with that of the Australian Muslim community and the Palestinian Authority. Israel, however, has pointed the finger at Canberra, which it claims is "guilty" of, among other things, recognizing the Palestinian state: the Australian government "has added fuel to the fire of anti-Semitism," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated. "It spreads when leaders remain silent."

RECONSTRUCTION – The massacre occurred in the late afternoon. The 'Chanukah by the Sea' party had begun at 5:00 PM local time in Archer Park, a grassy area right next to the beach. The event's poster promised "live entertainment, music, games, and fun for all ages." "Bring your friends, bring your family," the flyers read. "Let's fill Bondi with joy and light!" Around a thousand people were at the party. It was Sunday, and the beach was still crowded. A shot rang out, then more, then more: it seemed like it would never end, witnesses reported. Panic ensued.

The first emergency call comes in at 6:47 PM. Behind the park is a wide road, Campbell Parade, with a raised pedestrian bridge: an ideal firing point for the party lawn. From here, two men in black T-shirts load, aim, fire at people with their rifles, then reload and fire again. One of them steps down from the bridge with his weapon in his hand and resumes firing from there. A passerby, Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, finds the courage to slip between the parked cars and jumps on the terrorist, snatching the rifle from his hand and pointing it at him . "A true hero," New South Wales Premier Chris Minns will later say. "Many people are alive tonight thanks to him."

The now unarmed terrorist loses his balance, then gets up and walks back to the bridge to his accomplice, who, seeing the other man in distress, fires at Ahmed, wounding him in the arm. A video shot by a drone hovering above the bridge shortly afterward captures the criminal already on the ground, unconscious. The other terrorist is still standing and continues to fire, from one side of the bridge and then the other, taking cover behind the parapets, but the officers advancing, firing between the cars, have now surrounded him. He too is hit and falls to the ground. It's over.

Lifeguards help carry the injured away on surfboards. On Bondi Beach, after dark, the sound of sirens and the cries of those who had gone to the beach to attend a party remain. They found themselves, through no fault of their own, victims of a massacre.

(Unioneonline)

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