Gefen Bitton, Israeli critically wounded in Bondi attack, to be flown to Israel

Gefen Bitton, an Israeli living in Australia who was critically wounded when he tried to confront one of the gunmen during the Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre last month, was being flown to Israel on Wednesday for further treatment, according to a report in Hebrew media.

Bitton, an Israeli national who worked in Australia for the past three years as a garage door technician, appeared in dramatic footage from December’s attack alongside Ahmed Al Ahmed, who wrestled a weapon from one of the two terrorists and aimed it back at one of them.

In the footage, Bitton is seen in a red shirt running toward Ahmed and the shooter before Ahmed manages to wrestle the gun away. In other clips, Bitton later falls to the ground, apparently at the moment he was shot. Fifteen people were killed in the terrorist attack, which was the country’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.

According to Ynet, Bitton, whose condition has improved but remains serious, was slated to travel to Israel on Wednesday evening via a medical transfer.

A friend told the Australian Jewish News on Monday that Bitton “is still in ICU. We’re seeing small improvements daily, as he slowly wakes up.”

The newspaper said that Bitton awoke from his coma in recent days, three weeks after he was shot.

Gefen Biton, un Israélien de 30 ans, a couru vers l'un des terroristes lors de l'attaque à Sydney dans le but de l'éliminer et a été gravement blessé par balle par l'autre terroriste. Son état est toujours critique, il est sous sédation et ventilé dans un hôpital en Australie.… pic.twitter.com/OfDOt3P8Jb

— GENGIS KHAN ???????? ???????? ???? (@GENGIS9999) December 20, 2025

The Australian newspaper also reported that he was visited earlier Wednesday in the hospital by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

According to local news outlets, Bitton was granted permanent residency by Australia for his heroism.

Albanese urged to rescind Herzog invite

Meanwhile, a group of Australian Labor party members was urging Albanese to rescind his invitation to President Isaac Herzog to visit the country, the UK’s Guardian reported Wednesday.

After the Bondi attack, Albanese invited Herzog to visit the country, and the president quickly agreed to do so. The date of the visit has not yet been announced.

Labor Friends of Palestine, a group of rank-and-file party members, issued a statement opposing Herzog’s visit, saying the Israeli president has “actively supported and enabled a long list of the gravest violations of international law” during the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, claiming he “works hand-in-hand” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel denies all accusations that it has broken international law in its military campaign in Gaza, and Herzog, as president, has no role in legislation or policy relating to the war.

The campaign against his visit was joined by number of left-wing Jewish groups, who argued that there would be “mass protests… [including] a very large contingent of Jewish participants” if Herzog visited Australia.

According to the groups, the visit would risk “exacerbating racism and antisemitism” because Herzog is “not a neutral or ceremonial head of state.”

Albanese, defending his invitation, said at the time that it was “entirely appropriate for the head of state to visit.”

The report quoted an Australian professor of international law as saying that it is “highly unlikely” that Herzog’s invitation will be rescinded.

Israel has accused Albanese and his government of encouraging antisemitism by permitting anti-Israel activity to flourish, as Australia has been home to massive protests against the Jewish state since the war in Gaza began with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terror onslaught, as well as dozens of instances of antisemitic attacks and vandalism on Jewish sites.