The devastating Chanukah by the Sea attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025, shocked Australia when 24-year-old Naveed Akram and his 50-year-old father, Sajid Akram, carried out a terrorist assault during a joyful Hanukkah celebration. The father-son shooters targeted the crowded event, killing 15 people including a 10-year-old girl and injuring dozens in an Islamic State-inspired act of antisemitism.
Police documents released on December 22 reveal the shooters’ thorough planning over months, including firearms training in rural New South Wales. A video manifesto against “Zionists” recorded in front of homemade Islamic State flags, and improvised explosive devices like pipe bombs that failed to detonate.
Sajid Akram died in a shootout with police at the scene, while Naveed, critically wounded, faces 59 charges, including murder and terrorism. This Bondi Beach shooting, Australia’s deadliest mass shooting since 1996, has sparked urgent calls for Australia gun law reforms.
Details of the Chanukah by the Sea Attack
The assault began when they launched four handmade IEDs, three aluminium pipe bombs, and one tennis ball loaded with gunpowder and steel ball bearings into the audience at the “Chanukah by the Sea” event. None exploded, but police confirmed that they were capable of detonating. The gunmen then fired shotguns and rifles at the celebrants below, using an elevated pedestrian footbridge as cover.
A larger IED and homemade Islamic State flags were later discovered in Naveed Akram’s car, which was parked nearby and decorated with the flags. CCTV footage showed the guys transporting firearms wrapped in blankets from a rented room in Campsie early that morning, as well as scouting the footbridge two days before.
Charges and Legal Proceedings
Naveed Akram, the 24-year-old surviving suspect in , Bondi Beach Shooting that killed 15 people during a Hanukkah celebration, faces 59 charges from New South Wales Police. These include 15 counts of murder, one count of committing a terrorist act (for advancing an Islamic State-inspired ideological cause), about 40 counts of wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent to murder the injured survivors. Plus additional offenses like discharging firearms to cause harm, using explosives to endanger life, and displaying prohibited terrorist symbols (homemade Islamic State flags). Police allege he and his late father acted jointly in religiously motivated extremism.
The proceedings began on December 17, 2025, with a video-link court appearance from the hospital; no plea was entered, and bail was denied. Akram has now been transferred to prison. The case, which is being handled by counter-terrorism investigators and federal prosecutors, is expected to take a long time because of Akram’s limited cooperation. No additional charges against others are anticipated.
The Human Toll and Community Response
Among the 15 victims of the Bondi Beach shooting were a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, elderly attendees, and figures such as Rabbi Eli Schlanger and French national Dan Elkayam. Funerals continue, with strict security in Sydney’s Jewish communities. As of December 22, 12 injured people remained hospitalized.
Impromptu flower and candle memorials appeared near Bondi Pavilion, and the Sydney Jewish Museum has largely preserved them. Thousands attended vigils, including a “Light Over Darkness” gathering where Matilda’s father lit a menorah. The beach reopened on December 18, but grief remains.
Political Response to Firearms and Security Issues
Following the Bondi Beach Shooting, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns introduced emergency legislation on December 22 for Australia’s strictest gun laws. It requires citizenship for firearms licenses which would have blocked the deceased attacker Sajid Akram and capped recreational ownership at four guns, while banning certain rapid-fire mechanisms.
Federally, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called a national cabinet meeting to discuss unified measures, such as faster license modifications and a potential buyback. He apologised to the Jewish community and pledged an intelligence investigation.
The NSW bill also prohibits terrorist symbols such as Islamic State flags, limits post-attack protests, permits police to identify demonstrators, and outlaws certain chants, which has sparked concern from civil liberties groups. With bipartisan backing, the bills are expected to pass fast, signalling an important initiative to address security holes and antisemitism.The Chanukah by the Sea attack serves as a sharp reminder of the instability of peace, but Australia’s united commitment, through improved safety, legal reforms, and community togetherness, wants to ensure that light overcomes over darkness in the face of such hate.
