{"id":450374,"date":"2025-12-16T06:42:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T06:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/450374\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T06:42:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T06:42:20","slug":"australia-to-tighten-gun-laws-after-bondi-beach-hanukkah-massacre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/450374\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia to tighten gun laws after Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre"},"content":{"rendered":"

SYDNEY (AP) \u2014 Australian leaders promised on Monday to immediately overhaul already-tough gun control laws after a mass shooting targeted a Hanukkah celebration<\/a> on Sydney\u2019s Bondi Beach. At least 15 people died in the attack, which has fueled criticism that authorities are not doing enough to combat a surge in antisemitic crimes<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Among the new measures proposed<\/a> would be a limit on the number of guns someone can own and a review of licenses held over time. Those and other actions would represent a significant update to the landmark national firearms agreement, which virtually banned rapid-fire rifles after a gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania in 1996, galvanizing the country into action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,\u201d Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.<\/p>\n

The violence erupted at the end of a summer day<\/a> when thousands had flocked to Bondi Beach<\/a>, an icon of Australia\u2019s cultural life. They included hundreds gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea<\/a> event celebrating the start of the Jewish festival with food, face painting and a petting zoo. Albanese called the massacre an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

A woman stands at a flower tribute at Bondi Beach on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, following Sunday\u2019s shooting in Sydney, Australia. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker)<\/p>\n

A woman stands at a flower tribute at Bondi Beach on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, following Sunday\u2019s shooting in Sydney, Australia. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker)<\/p>\n

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Police shot the two suspected gunmen, a father and son. The 50-year-old father died at the scene. His 24-year-old son remained in a coma in hospital on Monday, Albanese said. Police won\u2019t reveal their names.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n AP AUDIO: Australia to tighten gun laws after Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre\n <\/p>\n

AP correspondent Laurence Brooks reports on proposals for stricter gun laws in Australia after Sunday\u2019s deadly shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.<\/p>\n

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Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.<\/p>\n


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Health officials said Tuesday that 25 people were still being treated in hospitals, 10 of them in critical condition. Those receiving care include children. <\/p>\n

Also among them is a man who was captured on video<\/a> appearing to tackle and disarm one apparent assailant, before pointing the man\u2019s weapon at him, then setting the gun on the ground.<\/p>\n

The man was identified by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke as Ahmed al Ahmed. The 42-year-old fruit shop owner and father of two was shot in the shoulder.<\/p>\n

Al Ahmed, an Australian citizen who migrated from Syria in 2006, underwent surgery on Monday, his family said. Al Ahmed\u2019s parents, who moved to Australia in recent months, said their son had a background in the Syrian security forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son has always been brave. He helps people. He\u2019s like that,\u201d his mother, Malakeh Hasan al Ahmed, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. through an interpreter.<\/p>\n

Authorities had investigated one of the suspected gunman<\/p>\n

Albanese confirmed that Australia\u2019s main domestic spy agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, had investigated the younger suspected gunman for six months in 2019.<\/p>\n

The ABC reported that the agency had examined the son\u2019s ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State group cell. Albanese did not describe the associates, but said the agency was interested in them rather than the son.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,\u201d Albanese said.<\/p>\n

Australia has gun laws meant to prevent mass attacks<\/p>\n

The horror at Australia\u2019s most popular beach was the deadliest shooting in almost three decades<\/a> since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. The removal of rapid-fire rifles has markedly reduced the death tolls from such acts of violence since then.<\/p>\n

Albanese\u2019s proposals to limit the number of guns someone can own and review licenses were announced after the authorities revealed that the older suspected gunman had held a gun license for a decade and amassed his six guns legally.<\/p>\n

Leaders of the federal and state governments on Monday also proposed restricting gun ownership to Australian citizens, a measure that would have excluded the older suspect, who came to Australia in 1998 on a student visa and became a permanent resident after marrying a local woman. Officials wouldn\u2019t confirm what country he had migrated from.<\/p>\n

His son, who doesn\u2019t have a gun license, is an Australian-born citizen.<\/p>\n

The government leaders also proposed the \u201cadditional use of criminal intelligence\u201d in deciding who was eligible for a gun license. That could mean the son\u2019s suspicious associates could disqualify the father from owning a gun.<\/p>\n

Chris Minns, premier of New South Wales where Sydney is the state capital, said his state\u2019s gun laws would change, but he could not yet detail how.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not a farmer, you\u2019re not involved in agriculture, why do you need these massive weapons that put the public in danger and make life dangerous and difficult for New South Wales Police?\u201d Minns asked.<\/p>\n

Dozens being treated in hospitals <\/p>\n

Among those hospitalized are two police officers. Those killed included a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor.<\/p>\n

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A man gestures as he lays flowers at a tribute for shooting victims outside the Bondi Pavilion at Sydney\u2019s Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, a day after a shooting. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker)<\/p>\n

A man gestures as he lays flowers at a tribute for shooting victims outside the Bondi Pavilion at Sydney\u2019s Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, a day after a shooting. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker)<\/p>\n

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While none of the dead or wounded have been formally named by the authorities, the identities of those killed, who ranged in age from 10 to 87, began to emerge in news reports Monday.<\/p>\n

Among them was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and an organizer of the family Hanukkah event that was targeted, according to Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement that runs outreach worldwide.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of an Israeli citizen, but gave no further details. French President Emmanuel Macron said a French citizen, identified as Dan Elkayam, was among those killed.<\/p>\n

Larisa Kleytman told reporters outside St Vincent\u2019s Hospital in Sydney that her husband, Alexander Kleytman, was among the dead. The couple were both Holocaust survivors, according to The Australian newspaper.<\/p>\n

Jewish leaders criticize government\u2019s response to antisemitism <\/p>\n

Over the past year, Australia has been rocked by antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Synagogues and cars were torched, businesses and homes graffitied and Jews attacked in those cities, where the vast majority of the nation\u2019s Jewish population lives. Of Australia\u2019s 28 million people, about 117,000 are Jewish, according to official figures.<\/p>\n

The massacre provoked questions about whether Albanese and his government had done enough to curb rising antisemitism<\/a>. Jewish leaders and the massacre\u2019s survivors expressed fear and fury as they questioned why the men hadn\u2019t been detected before they opened fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a heap of inaction,\u201d said Lawrence Stand, a Sydney man who raced to a bar mitzvah celebration in Bondi when the violence erupted to find his 12-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the federal government has made a number of missteps on antisemitism,\u201d Alex Ryvchin, spokesperson for the Australian Council of Executive Jewry, told reporters gathered on Monday near the site of the shooting. \u201cI think when an attack such as what we saw yesterday takes place, the paramount and fundamental duty of government is the protection of its citizens, so there\u2019s been an immense failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

A couple lay flowers at a tribute to shooting victims outside the Bondi Pavilion at Sydney\u2019s Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, a day after a shooting. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker)<\/p>\n

A couple lay flowers at a tribute to shooting victims outside the Bondi Pavilion at Sydney\u2019s Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, a day after a shooting. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker)<\/p>\n

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The Australian government has enacted various measures \u2014 including appointing a special envoy to combat antisemitism, toughening laws and investing in enhanced security for Jewish schools and synagogues \u2014 to counter a surge in antisemitism since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said<\/a> Sunday that he warned Australia\u2019s leaders months ago about the dangers of failing to take action against antisemitism. He claimed Australia\u2019s decision, in line with scores of other countries, to recognize a Palestinian state \u201cpours fuel on the antisemitic fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albanese in August blamed Iran for two of the previous attacks<\/a> and cut diplomatic ties to Tehran. Authorities have not suggested Iran was linked to Sunday\u2019s massacre.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand, and McGuirk from Melbourne, Australia. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SYDNEY (AP) \u2014 Australian leaders promised on Monday to immediately overhaul already-tough gun control laws after a mass…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":450375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[206954,206951,206950,38602,12648,13214,4740,46249,372,17367,4219,206956,206955,8703,57,2935,4222,3462,373,206952,206953,50,2068,3677,13048,46181,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-450374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-ahmed-al-ahmed","9":"tag-alex-ryvchin","10":"tag-alexander-kleytman","11":"tag-anthony-albanese","12":"tag-antisemitism","13":"tag-asia-pacific","14":"tag-australia","15":"tag-australia-government","16":"tag-benjamin-netanyahu","17":"tag-chris-minns","18":"tag-crime","19":"tag-dan-elkayam","20":"tag-eli-schlanger","21":"tag-emmanuel-macron","22":"tag-general-news","23":"tag-gun-politics","24":"tag-gun-violence","25":"tag-israel-government","26":"tag-israel-hamas-war","27":"tag-larisa-kleytman","28":"tag-lawrence-stand","29":"tag-news","30":"tag-race-and-ethnicity","31":"tag-shootings","32":"tag-sydney","33":"tag-tony-burke","34":"tag-world","35":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115727889859231113","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}