Australia flags ISIS link to Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack: Video
Australia’s intelligence agencies have uncovered evidence suggesting the deadly attack on a Hanukkah gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach was inspired by the Islamic State (ISIS), Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Friday, December 19.
Speaking in Canberra, Albanese said the Office of National Intelligence had identified a “regular online video feed from ISIS” linked to the suspects, indicating the attack was ideologically motivated as well as tactically planned.
“We must consider both motivation and method,” the prime minister said. “We’ve been informed that the Office of National Intelligence has identified material that reinforces this was an ISIS-inspired attack.”
The shooting, described by authorities as Australia’s worst mass casualty attack since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, left 15 people dead, including one of the gunmen, and injured more than 40 others. Those killed included Rabbi Eli Schlanger and a Holocaust survivor, according to community leaders.
Police said the attackers were identified as father and son Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while his son was arrested and remains in custody.
In response, Albanese unveiled a national gun buyback scheme, calling it the most significant firearms reform since the sweeping changes introduced after Port Arthur, where 35 people were killed.
“The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets,” he said.
Under the proposal, the federal government will partner with states and territories to buy back surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms, with costs shared equally. Albanese noted that Australia now has more than four million firearms in circulation—more than at the time of the Port Arthur tragedy nearly three decades ago.
The government also plans to cap the number of firearms an individual can own, tighten licensing requirements, restrict the types of guns that can be legally owned, require Australian citizenship for firearm licences and fast-track the creation of a National Firearms Register.
“Australians are rightly proud of our gun laws,” Albanese said. “We are not home to the constant carnage we see in some countries, and we intend to keep it that way.”
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
