In the evening of Sunday, Dec. 14, President Donald Trump and other world leaders responded to the mass shooting on the first day of Hanukkah in Australia. Here, mourners can be seen gathered at the Bondi Pavilion on Dec. 15, one day after the mass shooting.(Photo credit: DAVID GRAY / AFP via Getty Images, and The White House / YouTube)
Hanukkah Celebration Targeted In Terror Attack In Australia
Dec. 14 was the night day of Hanukkah, celebrated by Jewish people all over the world.
However, the day was marred by bloodshed.
At Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, over a thousand people were attending a Hanukkah celebration, dubbed Hanukkah by the Sea, put on by the Orthodox Chabad. There, 15 people were killed by two gunmen.
Further, 42 attendees were injured.
The suspected gunmen, a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son from Pakistan, fired at the attendees on the beach from a nearby footbridge.
When New South Wales Police responded, the father was killed and his son was injured and taken into custody.
Following a meeting of Australia’s National Security Committee, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that what “should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith” was cut short by “an act of evil antisemitism — terrorism — that … struck the heart” of the nation.
He added, “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian, and every Australian, tonight, will be, like me, devastated … There is no place for this hate, violence, and terrorism in our nation.”
The next day, on Dec. 15 in Australia, Prime Minister Albanese recommended that the National Cabinet take up discussion of “tougher gun laws.”
Watch his statement on taking action on gun legislation in Australia, here:
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 15, 2025
This mass shooting comes just over two years after the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Jews in Israel that was perpetrated by Hamas.
Notably, that attack also coincided with a Jewish holiday: Simchat Torah.
President Trump Responds To Violent Tragedies In U.S. And Abroad
The tragedy in Australia was responded to by many world leaders.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer posted on X:
As we light the Chanukiah, our thoughts and prayers are with those murdered in the terrorist attack on Bondi beach today, their loved ones and the whole Jewish community.
Light will always win over darkness. pic.twitter.com/jU6abrNdZ9
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) December 14, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was more pointed in his remarks on the mass shooting in Australia, saying on Dec. 15 in Israel that Australia’s policies regarding the statehood of Palestine were “promoting and encouraging antisemitism in Australia.”
During a Dec. 14 Christmas reception at the White House, President Donald Trump said responded to three tragedies.
First, he spoke on two tragedies involving American citizens: the shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island and the attack perpetrated by ISIS against U.S. troops in Syria.
Speaking on Brown University, Trump said:
“I want to just pay my respects to the people, unfortunately, two are no longer with us — Brown University, nine injured, and two are looking down on us right now from Heaven.”
Regarding the violence in Syria, Trump acknowledged that three soldiers were injured and that three others had been killed, stating, “We had three great patriots terminated by bad people, and not the Syrian government, it was ISIS … the new president, [President Ahmed al-Sharaa], fought by our side.”
Speaking on the Australian mass shooting, Trump said, “Likewise, in Australia, there was a terrible attack … and that was an antisemitic attack … that’s a terrible situation going on over there.”
Watch Trump’s remarks at the beginning of the Dec. 14 reception, here:
Netanyahu also spoke on the targeted killing of the American soldiers in Syria.
Quoting U.S. Sec. of War Pete Hegseth, Netanyahu said, “Let it be known that if you target Americans anywhere in the world, you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing that the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you.”
Netanyahu then said that Israel’s policy is exactly the same as the United States’ regarding its own citizens.
RELATED: Mass Shooting At Brown University Leaves 2 Dead, 8 In Critical Condition
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