Dec. 14: Trump condemns Sydney shooting as ‘a purely antisemitic attack’

Australia to mourn Sydney Hanukkah shooting with flags at half-mast, says PM

Australia will lower flags to half-mast in a national gesture of mourning for the 15 people killed in a mass shooting on Bondi Beach, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“Flags will fly at half-mast across the country today as we pay our respects to all those lost and all those injured,” Albanese says.

“Australia will never submit to division, violence, or hatred, and we will come through this together,” he adds. “We refuse to let them divide us as a nation.”

At least 7 people still in critical condition following Sydney Hanukkah shooting

At least seven patients remain in critical condition following the shooting at a Sydney Hanukkah event in Australia, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Another four are considered to be in critical but stable condition, the newspaper says, with dozens of others also being treated.

Earlier, police said that 42 people remain hospitalized, including two police officers, following the massacre which killed 15 people.

Reuven Morrison and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan named as victims of Sydney massacre

Two additional victims of the massacre at a Sydney Hanukkah event have been identified.

One is named as Reuven Morrison, who is identified by Chabad.org as “a member of the Chabad community who divided his time between Melbourne and Sydney.”

Another victim is named as Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, who served as secretary of the Sydney Beth Din and worked at the BINA Center, according to Chabad. According to a local Chabad news site, Levitan worked in distributing tefillin to those committed to performing the Jewish rite.

Netanyahu says Australian PM ‘did nothing’ to protect local Jews

Speaking at a Hanukkah candle lighting with the family of the Ran Gvili, the last slain hostage in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledges that “we will bring Rani back, just as we brought back 254 out of our 255 hostages.”

“There were those who did not believe,” he continued, speaking to police officers at the National Police College. “I believe. My colleagues in the government believed. They said, ‘It will be a miracle.’ I said, ‘This people creates miracles.’ The Holy One, blessed be He, helps a people who help themselves.”

Turning to the deadly shooting in Sydney, Netanyahu says that he told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that his government’s policy “encourages terror.”

“It encourages antisemitism,” Netanyahu continued. “You are calling for a Palestinian state, and in effect you are rewarding Hamas for the horrific massacre they carried out on October 7. You are granting legitimacy to all these rioters, and you are not lifting a finger to eliminate these centers of terror. This will lead to more murders.”

Albanese “did nothing,” says Netanyahu. There will be more such attacks, he predicts.

“The safe place for Jews around the world is where the government, the army, and the security forces protect them — first and foremost in Israel, because we defend ourselves.”

Also speaking at the ceremony, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stresses that Israel is moving forward with a bill that would mandate the death penalty for terrorists: “A state that respects life must say to those who harm its citizens — their blood is on their own heads.”

Asked about Netanyahu’s criticism, Australian PM only calls for ‘national unity’

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declines to directly respond to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blaming him for ignoring warnings about attacks on the Jewish community before the deadly shooting against a Hanukkah event today.

Asked at a press conference about Netanyahu’s comments, Albanese responds that “this is a moment for national unity, this is a moment for Australians to come together, that’s precisely what we will be doing.”

Questioned on whether Australian security authorities had failed to protect the Jewish community, Albanese says that “our authorities do an extraordinary job,” and “will conduct a thorough investigation.”

Albanese also declines to take responsibility for ignoring warnings from the Jewish community.

Asked if he has failed Jewish Australians, the prime minister says that “my government will continue to stand with Jewish Australians and will continue to stamp out antisemitism in all its forms.”

Shooters in Sydney massacre were father and son, says police commissioner

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon says that they believe there were only two shooters involved — a father and son who are ages 50 and 24.

The father was a licensed gun owner, Lanyon says at a press conference, saying that they believe all his firearms have been recovered.

The father has been killed and his son, earlier identified as Naveed Akram, 24, is “in critical but stable condition,” Lanyon says.

Victims in Sydney Hanukkah attack range from 10-87 years old, says official

The 15 victims in the massacre at a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia range in age from 10 to 87, says Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales.

Speaking at a press conference, Minns says that 42 people remain in hospitals following the shooting. Two of them are wounded police officers.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking after Minns, calls the attack an “act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores.”

The shooting “deliberately targeted at the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah,” he says, calling it “a dark day in our nation’s history.”

Syria president sends condolences to Trump after attack on US troops

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa sends his condolences to his American counterpart Donald Trump, a day after a deadly attack on US troops in central Syria.

In a statement, the Syrian presidency says Sharaa sent “a cable of condolences to US President Donald Trump regarding the killing of American soldiers in Homs province,” expressing his country’s “solidarity with the victims’ families.”

The attack, which Washington blamed on the Islamic State group, killed two US troops and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra, Homs province.

Israel warns of ‘copycat’ attacks after Sydney Hanukkah massacre, urges vigilance

After the deadly shooting attack on a Hanukkah party in Sydney, the National Security Council warns that “past experience shows there is concern about copycat actions by supporters of terrorism who may be inspired by the event.”

The travel warning urges Israelis abroad to avoid unsecured mass gatherings, including at synagogues, Chabad houses and Hanukkah parties.

“Remain vigilant around Jewish/Israeli sites and report to security forces if anything unusual is identified (a suspicious person or a suspicious object),” says the NSC.

4-year-old boy dies of flu complications, says Health Ministry

A 4-year-old boy from northern Israel has died from the flu, the Health Ministry says.

This is the fourth child to die of the flu in the past few weeks.

The boy, who suffered from serious diseases, was not vaccinated against the flu.

The ministry says that although the flu vaccine does not completely prevent illness, it reduces the severity in most cases.

German president lights Hanukkah candles with Berlin Jews in Brandenburg Gate

Following today’s terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attends a public lighting at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate for the first night of Hanukkah.

Steinmeier participated in the candle lighting at the landmark, a symbol of Nazi Germany, in solidarity with the Jewish community. He has attended in past years as well, including at the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht in 2018.

Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, who serves as the president of the Chabad Jewish Education Center in Berlin, says at the ceremony: “The only weapon we have against darkness is light, and the only response we have to hatred is more love.”

Levin, Smotrich deny weighing cutting funding to yeshivas over links to draft dodgers

Spokespeople for Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich deny that the two cabinet officials are involved in discussion about cutting off all funding to ultra-Orthodox yeshivas until it can be conclusively determined that taxpayer money is not going to draft evaders.

Last Thursday, national broadcaster Kan reported that the two ministries were concerned that funds allocated to these yeshivas were going toward evaders, despite last year’s court ruling prohibiting this.

In June 2024, the High Court issued a ruling ordering the government to start conscripting Haredi men. Since then, yeshivas harboring draft dodgers have seen their budgets slashed, draft refusers have lost access to daycare subsidies for their children and other benefits, and the IDF has begun arresting small numbers of evaders, including some attempting to leave the country.

Last month, the court gave the gave the government 45 days to draw up effective enforcement measures, including criminal proceedings, against ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who have refused to comply with IDF conscription orders.

Asked for comment, a spokesman for Levin says that the minister is “not involved,” while a spokesman for Smotrich says he “doesn’t know of anything like that.”

A spokesperson for the Finance Ministry recommends contacting the Justice Ministry, stating “it’s more on their end,” indicating that such discussions may actually be taking place.

Speaking with The Times of Israel, an opposition member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which is currently debating a coalition bill which would exempt yeshiva students from military conscription, says that there are such discussions taking place.

Amsterdam protests against Hanukkah concert with IDF cantor said to be subdued

Anti-Israel protests outside of Amsterdam’s Royal Concert Hall were relatively subdued, after groups threatened to cause trouble outside a series of Hanukkah concerts performed by IDF chief cantor Shai Abramson.

Police allowed no more than 20 protesters outside the theater, known as Concertgebouw, for midday protests, local media reports. Activists carried signs saying, “No stage for genocide” and “The Concertgebouw is occupied.”

A protest at 6 p.m. was allowed to have up to 30 demonstrators outside the concert hall. A larger protest was held at the same time at the nearby Museumplein.

Groups had threatened larger protests against what they call the IDF’s “ongoing genocide” in Gaza.

In early November, the hall, also known as Concertgebouw, said it would cancel the December 14 concert due to Abramson’s appearance on the program. However, after the announcement caused an international uproar, it later reached a compromise with the event’s organizers. While the main concert on Sunday afternoon was held without Abramson’s presence, he did perform at two private concerts later in the evening.

Sydney Jewish org says Jewish institutions should remain closed after Bondi attack

The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies has recommended that all Jewish institutions in the Sydney area remain closed following today’s terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

“Based on the current security situation, we have made the unprecedented and extremely difficult decision to recommend that all communal institutions, including synagogues, early learning centers and kosher restaurants, are closed until further notice,” the Jewish community organization says.

Organization president David Ossip calls on community members to report any security concerns or suspicious activity to security authorities and to remain vigilant.

“There will be a lot to say over the coming days — including about how we arrived at the current moment — but for now I need the community to be there for one another and to give strength and support to those who have been most directly impacted by this act of terror,” he says in a statement.

NSW JBD Statement: Bondi Terrorist Attack pic.twitter.com/r7UbYeOMUm

— NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (@NSWJBD) December 14, 2025

Syria says it has arrested 5 people tied to shooting of US troops

Syria has arrested five people suspected of having links to the shooting of US and Syrian troops in the central Syrian town of Palmyra yesterday, the Interior Ministry says.

Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead. The Syrian Interior Ministry has described the attacker as a member of the Syrian security forces suspected of sympathizing with the Islamic State.

“Our units carried out a precise and decisive security operation in the city of Palmyra, following a cowardly terrorist attack carried out yesterday by an individual affiliated with the Islamic State,” Syria’s Interior Ministry says in a statement.

“The operation was conducted in full coordination with the General Intelligence Service and international coalition forces, and resulted in the arrest of five suspects, who were immediately referred for questioning.”

Death toll in Sydney massacre at Hanukkah event rises to 15, says minister

The death toll in the massacre at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia has risen to 15, an Australian minister says.

New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park is cited by the Sydney Morning Herald saying that 16 people have died, including a child who died of their wounds in a hospital. The figure includes one of the gunmen who was killed in the incident.

Earlier, a Jewish community leader said that the victims included a 12-year-old girl who had succumbed to her wounds.

Earlier, the death toll had stood at 11 victims and one of the perpetrators.

“This is absolutely horrendous for the community broadly, but particularly the Jewish community, but for Australians,” Park says on Nine’s Today show, according to the news outlet.

Australia said to be investigating if Sydney attack was part of larger Iranian plot

The Mossad notified Australian intelligence about Iranian-backed “terror infrastructure” in the country planning to carry attacks on Jewish targets about a month ago, Channel 12 reports.

Almost all of the infrastructure was taken apart by Australian authorities after receiving the Israeli warning, according to the report, and Australian intelligence is investigating whether the perpetrators of today’s attack were part of the Iranian effort.

In October, the Mossad released details about a trans-national terror network run by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, which was behind a string of recent attacks on Jewish sites in Western countries, including Australia.

According to Israel’s spy agency, senior IRGC-Quds Force commander Sardar Ammar heads the network, which intensified its efforts to attack Jewish and Israeli sites around the world since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel.

In August, Australia blamed Iran for involvement in two 2024 arson attacks, at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and a kosher restaurant in Sydney, using criminals and members of organized crime gangs. Canberra also expelled Iran’s ambassador, and said it would list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organization. It marked the first time Australia expelled an ambassador since World War II.

French Jew Dan Elkayam, 27, identified as one of Sydney attack victims

Dan Elkayam, a young French Jewish man, is named as one of the 11 people killed in today’s shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot writes on X that Paris feels “immense sadness” at the news, and is mourning “with his family and loved ones, with the Jewish community and the bereaved Australian people.”

Dan Elkayam, un jeune Français qui participait aux célébrations de Hanouka sur la plage de Bondi, a été identifié comme l’une des victimes assassinées lors de la fusillade antisémite. 💔

Pensée très forte à sa famille et à ses proches.

Que sa mémoire soit une bénédiction. 🕯️ pic.twitter.com/2tBpJerjYD

— Jérémy Benhaïm (@JeremBenhaim) December 14, 2025

The Le Parisien newspaper reports that Elkayam was 27 and had moved to Australia around a year ago to work as an engineer.

IDF confirms 3rd Hezbollah operative killed in south Lebanon drone strike

The IDF confirms that its third drone strike in southern Lebanon this afternoon killed a Hezbollah operative.

The strike near Jouaiya killed Zakariya Yahya al-Hajj, who the military says was a senior Hezbollah operative in the area of the village.

“As part of his role, he activated agents within Lebanon’s security apparatus. Additionally, the terrorist al-Hajj acted to suppress criticism by opponents of Hezbollah in Lebanon,” the IDF says.

Two other separate strikes in Lebanon today killed two other Hezbollah members, the IDF said earlier.

חיסול שלישי בתוך שעות: צה"ל חיסל מחבל בארגון הטרור חיזבאללה

מוקדם יותר היום, צה"ל תקף וחיסל בהובלת פיקוד הצפון ובאמצעות חיל האוויר, את המחבל זכריא יחיא אל-חאג' ששימש כמחבל בכיר בארגון הטרור חזבאללה במרחב ג'ויא שבדרום לבנון.

במסגרת תפקידו, הפעיל סוכנים במנגנוני הביטחון בלבנון.… pic.twitter.com/23eSiMtRAE

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 14, 2025

Trump condemns Sydney shooting as ‘a purely antisemitic attack’

US President Donald Trump condemns a deadly mass shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia as “a purely antisemitic attack.”

“That was a terrible attack, 11 dead, 29 badly wounded. And that was an antisemitic attack, obviously,” Trump says, during a Christmas celebration at the White House.

IDF chief: Israel’s enemies will not be allowed to ‘build up’ their capabilities

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir vows that the military will not allow Israel’s enemies to “build up” their capabilities, after an airstrike yesterday killed top Hamas official Raad Saad, who headed the terror group’s weapons manufacturing headquarters.

“Yesterday, we eliminated Raad Saad, one of the senior figures of the military wing of the Hamas terror organization, who led and carried out terror activities for more than 30 years and was one of the architects of the October 7 attack,” he says at a Hanukkah candle-lighting event in northern Israel.

“His involvement in Hamas’s attempts to restore and rebuild [its forces] constituted a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” Zamir says.

The IDF chief notes “within a short period” Israel killed Hezbollah’s military chief — on November 23 — and Hamas’s head of weapon production.

“We will not allow the enemy to build up its capabilities and will respond to any violation of the agreement. Our policy is clear, on all fronts, and here in Lebanon as well, we will continue to act and thwart threats as they emerge,” Zamir adds.

12-year-old girl among those murdered in Sydney attack, says Jewish communal leader

A 12-year-old girl is among those killed by gunmen targeting a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia today, says a Jewish communal leader.

Alexander Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, tells CNN that a friend of his “lost his 12-year-old daughter, who succumbed to her wounds in hospital.”

“We’re a very close knit community, and this event is kind of the gem of our year. It’s something we look forward to every year,” he tells the TV network.

Other victims have been identified as Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger and Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. Israel said that at least one Israeli national was also killed in the massacre. At least 11 people were killed and dozens more wounded in the attack.

Police arrest 4 people who took part in protest march against racist Jaffa assault

Police arrest four people who partook in a stormy march last night to protest the alleged assault of a pregnant Arab woman by Jews in Jaffa.

“Due to the fear of rioting and harm to the public peace, four additional participants in yesterday’s demonstration were arrested a short time ago,” police say.

The woman, 30-year-old Hanan Abu Shehadeh, recounted to Arabic outlets being pepper-sprayed by three Jewish assailants while driving with her two kids in the city’s Ajami neighborhood.

The assailants, taking advantage of the car’s rolled-down windows, shouted racist epithets and spat on her 7-year-old daughter, she said.

After news spread of the incident, hundreds of outraged Arab residents marched to the site of the attack, accusing the government of complicity.

Participants chanted, “Tell the Shin Bet dogs we’re not afraid of conflict,” referring to Israel’s internal security agency.

This morning, a Muslim cleric was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence at the march.

Police are still searching for the suspected assailants and have called for the public’s help in tracking them down, in order to “get to the truth of the matter and clarify the circumstances of the incident.”

Palestinian Authority condemns Bondi attack without mentioning Jews or Hanukkah

The Palestinian Authority foreign ministry condemns the shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 11 people, saying it rejects all forms of violence and terrorism.

The English-language statement does not acknowledge that the shooting attack targeted Jews or a Hanukkah event. It does add a condemnation of “Israel’s ongoing killing of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.”

The ministry says it “reiterates its firm rejection of all forms of violence, terrorism and extremism, which contradict humanitarian values,” expressing in a statement its “full solidarity” with “friendly Australia.”

Australia recognized a Palestinian state in September alongside Britain and Canada in a historic shift in decades of Western foreign policy.

Herzog lights 1st Hanukkah candle with family of last hostage held in Gaza

President Isaac Herzog lights the first candle of Hanukkah with the family of Ran Gvili, the last hostage whose remains are still being held in Gaza.

“Ran is a police officer who fell heroically in battle on October 7. 800 days later, Ran is now the last hostage still being held by murderous terrorists in Gaza,” Herzog says. “We renew our call for Ran to be released immediately and returned home to his dear family for dignified burial!”

Herzog is also joined by freed hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel, Matan Angrest, Shlomi Ziv, Noralin Babadilla, Margalit Mozes, Clara Merman, Moran Stella Yanai, and Gabriella and Mia Lemberg.

Iran vows to continue to ‘resolutely support’ Hezbollah against Israel

A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says the country will “resolutely support” Hezbollah, its ally in Lebanon, in the terror group’s efforts to confront Tehran’s regional foe, Israel.

The remarks by Ali Akbar Velayati come as Lebanon faces pressure from the United States and Israel to disarm Hezbollah, which engaged in more than a year of hostilities with Israel following the outbreak of the Gaza war.

“Hezbollah, as one of the most important pillars of the resistance front, plays a fundamental role in confronting Zionism,” state news agency IRNA quotes Velayati as saying to Hezbollah’s representative in Tehran.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, under the leadership and orders of the [supreme] leader, will continue to resolutely support this valuable and selfless group on the front lines of the resistance,” he adds.

Iran has for years supported what it calls the axis of resistance, a network of anti-Israel armed groups that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Velayati recently drew sharp criticism from Beirut after he said in late November that the “existence of Hezbollah is more essential for Lebanon than the daily bread.”

Berlin, London, New York step up security at Hanukkah events after Sydney attack

Major cities including Berlin, London and New York step up security around Hanukkah events following the attack on a Jewish holiday celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Berlin police say they are ramping up measures around the German capital’s Brandenburg Gate, where a large electric menorah is being lit to mark the first night of Hanukkah.

“We have long planned comprehensive security for tonight’s Hanukkah event at the Brandenburg Gate — in light of the events in Sydney, we will further intensify our measures and maintain a strong police presence there,” a spokesperson says on X.

Meanwhile, New York Mayor Eric Adams writes on X that extra protection is being deployed for Hanukkah celebrations and synagogues in New York City and in Warsaw’s main synagogue, armed security was doubled for its event tonight.

London’s Metropolitan Police says it has also increased security, but did not want to give details.

“While there is no information to suggest any link between the attack in Sydney and the threat level in London, this morning we are stepping up our police presence, carrying out additional community patrols and engaging with the Jewish community to understand what more we can do in the coming hours and days,” it says in a statement.

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez asked local authorities to reinforce security around Jewish places of worship during the December 14 to 22 period, a spokesperson for the minister says.

Nunez calls for increased deployment of security forces, with particular vigilance around religious services and gatherings that draw large crowds, especially when they take place in public spaces, the spokesperson adds.

Knesset lit up in colors of Australian flag following Sydney Hanukkah shooting

The Knesset is lit up in the colors of the Australian flag in a sign of solidarity following today’s deadly shooting attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

“The Knesset bows its head in memory of the victims of the shocking terrorist attack in Sydney and stands by the Jewish community in Australia. Your pain is our pain. We will not give in to antisemites and to terror. They will not defeat us. Am Yisrael Chai,” says Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

In an English-language tweet today, Ohana said the attack was “what ‘Globalize the intifada’ looks like. A bloodied holiday for Jews.”

He argued that “wherever antisemitism is not confronted head-on, it will transform into terrorism against Jews. The best time to act was when it started. The second-best time is NOW.”

Mamdani: Australia attack is ‘vile act of antisemitic terror’

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a far-left anti-Zionist activist, condemns the massacre in Australia as a “vile act of antisemitic terror.”

Jewish community representatives have repeatedly warned that Mamdani’s anti-Israel rhetoric plays into threats against Jews, such as his past defense of the phrase “Globalize the intifada,” which he has since said he would “discourage.”

“I mourn those who were murdered and will be keeping their families, the Jewish community, and the Chabad movement in my prayers. May the memories of all those killed be a blessing,” Mamdani says in a statement.

“Another Jewish community plunged into mourning and loss, a holiday of light so painfully reduced to a day of darkness. This attack is merely the latest, most horrifying iteration in a growing pattern of violence targeted at Jewish people across the world,” Mamdani adds.

“Too many no longer feel safe to be themselves, to express their faith publicly, to worship in their synagogues without armed security stationed outside. What happened at Bondi is what many Jewish people fear will happen in their communities too,” he says.

Hamas says it reserves ‘right to respond’ to Israeli assassination of Raad Saad

The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, says it reserves the right to respond to Israel’s assassination yesterday of Raad Saad, who led Hamas’s military production and was considered the Brigades’ second-in-command.

In a statement quoted by Arabic media, the Qassam Brigades say that Israel’s attack “crossed every red line” and “shows complete disregard” for US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan. It calls on ceasefire mediators to hold Israel to account.

“Our right to respond to the occupation’s aggression is guaranteed, and it’s our right to defend ourselves by any means,” says the statement.

It adds that the Qassam leadership has appointed a new commander to fill Saad’s role. The new commander is not named in the statement.

In a separate statement quoted by Arabic media, Hamas names three of its operatives who were killed alongside Saad in the IDF strike on a vehicle on the coastal Rashid Road in Gaza City. They are Riyadh al-Labban, Abdul-Hayy Zaqout and Yahya al-Kayyali, according to the statement. Palestinian media reported a total of five people killed in the strike.

The two Hamas statements come after Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya in a speech earlier today confirmed that Saad had been killed.

Following Sydney massacre, US Jewish security groups reiterate guidelines

US Jewish security groups release guidelines for Hanukkah events after the massacre at a Hanukkah event today in Sydney, Australia.

The Secure Community Network, the Community Security Initiative, and the Community Security Service — three leading Jewish community groups in the US — issue a set of recommendations, including:

Coordinating Hanukkah events with local law enforcement and security professionals; extending the security perimeter for events as far away from gatherings as possible; only allowing identifiable and pre-screened invitees into events, and not sending out mass invitations to the public; requiring registration and verification for all entrants; only providing event details, such as time and location, after invitees have registered; implementing access control, such as locked doors and security at entrances, for all events; reporting any suspicious activity; and adding armed on-duty or off-duty law enforcement, private security, and volunteer teams for additional security.

The guidelines are backed by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Anti-Defamation League.

US Jewish security groups have repeatedly shared similar guidelines following threats and attacks against American Jews in recent years, as US Jewish institutions have increasingly tightened their security due to the dangers.

In New York, city and state leaders say they will increase police protection at Jewish community events following the Australia attack.

IDF general tells Knesset ‘many people’ are enrolled in yeshivas but not learning

Addressing the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate’s Planning and Personnel Management Division, says there are “many people” enrolled in yeshivas who “we know are not learning.”

During a discussion of a clause in the government’s proposed bill regulating the conscription of yeshiva students, Tayeb endorses a proposal that those receiving deferrals for yeshiva studies “must provide certification that they study in the yeshiva, signed by the head of the yeshiva and a lawyer” because “otherwise, people will continue to come with papers of unknown authenticity.”

“This way, not only the individual will bear the consequences, but also the person who signs for them,” he says.

At least 22% of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students under the age of 26 are employed under the table, according to a 2024 study by the Israel Democracy Institute, appearing to undercut the community’s argument that its members do not enlist in the army due to their total immersion in Torah study.

The committee’s legal adviser wrote to lawmakers last night arguing against a clause in the law stipulating that the defense minister may remove a specific institution from the list of yeshivas whose students receive draft deferrals should 20% or more of those enrolled fail to report for registration and medical examination at an IDF recruitment office as required by law.

She wrote that such an arrangement should not be put in the law “as all are required to do under the provisions of the Security Service Law, since all students must comply with the provisions of the law and the yeshiva must ensure this.”

She also argued, like Tayeb, that those receiving deferrals should be required to have their status attested to by their yeshiva’s dean, who is familiar with their level of study, rather than another yeshiva official.

However, during today’s discussion, a representative of the Defense Ministry argues that the ministry “does not supervise the yeshivas. In this matter, we rely on the Education Ministry. The 20% threshold was customary until today, and we do not believe it needs to be stricter.”

Family of hostage mistakenly slain by IDF decries promotion of commander involved in incident

The family of Yotam Haim — a hostage who was mistakenly killed by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, alongside Samar Talalka and Alon Shamriz in December 2023 — is demanding that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir block the planned promotion of the battalion commander involved in the deadly incident.

The officer, Lt. Col. “Daled,” who commanded the Bislamach Brigade’s 17th Battalion at the time, was included on a list of appointments made by Ground Forces chief Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan on Friday.

According to the IDF’s probe of the incident, on December 15, 2023, during “intense fighting” in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, a soldier with the 17th Battalion opened fire at three figures he had wrongly identified as a threat, killing two, while the third fled to a nearby building.

Commanders at the scene called on the soldiers to cease their fire in order for the third figure to be identified. Some 15 minutes later, the battalion commander heard someone shouting from the building, “Help,” and “They are shooting at me” in Hebrew, and again ordered troops to halt their fire, while shouting back at the figure: “Come my way.”

The third man — later confirmed to be Haim — came out of the building toward the troops, but two soldiers who, according to the probe, had not heard the battalion commander’s order due to noise from a nearby tank, shot and killed the hostage.

“We are simply shaken… how can one give a promotion to a person? This commander heard shouting, and he was told that fluent Hebrew was being heard. He ordered to cease fire, but did not make sure that the last of the soldiers heard the order,” Haim’s mother, Iris, tells Ynet news.

“This commander did not approach me on his own initiative even once. We forced him to come and speak with us. And even then, he did not tell us the truth,” she says.

The IDF in response says that Lt. Col. “Daled,” over the past two years, “has led hundreds of soldiers under his command, serving as commander of two different battalions, under fire and while risking his life.”

“He is a principled, professional, and honest commander who works tirelessly and dedicates his life to the security of the State of Israel,” the army says.

The IDF adds that “the investigation in question concluded about two years ago, and its findings were presented to the families and to the public with transparency.”

IDF says it killed Palestinian who crossed Yellow Line in Gaza

The IDF says it killed a Palestinian terror operative who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip’s north earlier today.

According to the military, the operative crossed the Yellow Line and approached troops of the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade, “in a way that posed an immediate threat.”

The troops then “eliminated the terrorist to remove the threat,” the army says.

Netanyahu: Israel is ‘approaching the completion of the first phase’ of Gaza peace plan

Israel is “approaching the completion of the first phase” of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, says Prime Minister Netanyahu during the weekly cabinet meeting.

“We also want to bring back, and are working to bring back, Rani Gvili, of blessed memory, a hero of Israel,” he says, referring to the last slain hostage in Gaza.

Netanyahu says in a special cabinet meeting in Dimona that Israel is doing “a great deal” to get his body back, “here, in Cairo, and in other places.”

After Israel assassinated top Hamas military commander Ra’ad Sa’ad over the weekend, Netanyahu says that Israel’s policy is clear: “We will not tolerate systematic violations of the ceasefire agreement to which Hamas is committed under the plan. Anyone who attempts to send terror, direct terror, or organize terror against us will be precisely targeted, exactly as the US secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, said yesterday.

“Their policy is our policy. There is no difference between them. This is how we act, and this is how we will continue to act,” he promises.

Netanyahu says that Sa’ad was the leader of Hamas’s attempts to rebuild its military forces.

“I said that in English we speak about disarmament — demilitarization — while he was doing remilitarization. That is, he was rearming, reorganizing, essentially organizing the continuation of the assault, in complete contradiction to the principles that Hamas ostensibly accepted by adopting the Trump plan.”

IDF confirms killing 2 Hezbollah operatives in drone strikes on south Lebanon

The IDF confirms killing two Hezbollah operatives in separate drone strikes in southern Lebanon today, while adding that the results of a third strike are under review.

During the morning, the military says it struck and killed a Hezbollah member in the village of Yater, who was involved in restoring the terror group’s infrastructure.

Within an hour, the IDF says it struck and killed another Hezbollah operative, near Bint Jbeil. That operative served as the terror group’s local representative in the village, and as part of his role, he was responsible for liaising between the terror group and the residents “on economic and military matters,” according to the military.

In the afternoon, the IDF says it struck another Hezbollah operative near the town of Jouaiya. “The results of the strike are under review,” the military says.

שני סיכולים ממוקדים תוך פחות משעה: צה"ל בהובלת אוגדה 91 חיסל שני מחבלים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה

הבוקר, צה"ל תקף וחיסל תוך פחות משעה שני מחבלים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים שונים בדרום לבנון.

במרחב יעטר שבדרום לבנון, צה"ל תקף וחיסל בהובלת אוגדה 91 ובאמצעות חיל האוויר, מחבל… pic.twitter.com/Y5od4TX5aT

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 14, 2025

King Charles ‘appalled’ by ‘most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack on Jewish people’

King Charles III says he is “appalled and saddened” by the “most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack on Jewish people” after the deadly Bondi Beach shooting aimed at a Hanukkah gathering.

Charles, who as head of the Commonwealth is also Australia’s head of state, pays tribute to the police and emergency services “and members of the public whose heroic actions no doubt prevented even greater horror and tragedy.”

“I know that the spirit of community and love that shines so brightly in Australia — and the light at the heart of the Chanukah Festival will always triumph over the darkness of such evil,” he adds in a statement on X.

Another victim of Sydney attack identified as Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman

Alex Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor and native of Ukraine, has been identified as another one of the victims of the massacre at at Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia.

His wife, Larisa Kleytman, told The Australian news outlet that he “came on Bondi Beach to celebrate Hanukkah, for us it was always a very, very good celebration, for many, many years.”

The husband of Larissa Kleytman, a grandmother who was celebrating Chanukah, was shot in the #bondibeach attack. She was very distraught coming out of St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney with friends & relatives saying he was killed next to her #Australia pic.twitter.com/ZdFactbO1d

— Farid Y. Farid (@FaridYFarid) December 14, 2025

She told the news outlet that “we were standing and suddenly came the ‘boom boom,’ and everybody fell down. At this moment he was behind me and at one moment he decided to go close to me. He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me.”

According to the Daily Mail, the couple have two children and 11 grandchildren.

Amid search for missing teen, rescue workers find body next to Yarkon River

Search and rescue volunteers with ZAKA have found a body next to the Yarkon River, police say, following a days-long search for a missing teenager.

Eliyahu Abba Shaul, 19, disappeared during the height of winter storm Byron after leaving his home Thursday evening in Bnei Brak.

Police and rescue services began concentrating their search efforts in and around the Yarkon, north of Tel Aviv, after finding Shaul’s clothes and motorized bicycle near the riverbank.

Murdered Chabad rabbi wrote to Australian PM weeks ago – report

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was murdered in the terror attack at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach today, wrote a letter to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese several weeks ago asking him to support Israel, according to Channel 12.

“As a rabbi in Sydney, I beg you not to betray the Jewish people and not God Himself,” Schlanger wrote to Albanese, widely seen as a harsh critic of Israel, according to the report.

“Jews have been torn from their land again and again by leaders who are now remembered with contempt in the pages of history. You have an opportunity to stand on the side of truth and justice,” the letter reads.

“I congratulate you in advance for the courage to do what is right and stand firm against this act of heresy,” Schlanger concluded.

The assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi in Sydney, Schlanger was one of at least 11 killed in the terror attack. At least 13 were seriously injured.

Iran says ‘terrorism unacceptable’ in condemnation of Sydney attack

Iran condemns today’s terror shooting attack at an event celebrating Hanukkah in Sydney, writes foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei in a Persian-language post on X.

“We condemn the violent attack in Sydney, Australia,” Baqaei says, adding that “Terrorism and the killing of human beings, wherever it is carried out, is unacceptable and condemned.”

Baqaei makes no mention of antisemitism, though Australian police authorities designated the attack, which resulted in 11 casualties, as a “terror incident” targeting the Australian Jewish community.

Iran is known to have organized terror attacks on Jewish communities worldwide.

In August, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran of being behind a pair of 2024 antisemitic arson attacks in Australia, announcing that Canberra had expelled Tehran’s ambassador and would list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organization.

Foreign Ministry says at least one Israeli killed in Sydney Hanukkah shooting

At least one Israeli has been killed and another wounded in the shooting attack in Sydney, says the Foreign Ministry.

Israel’s consul in Australia will visit the wounded Israeli in the hospital and is in touch with the individual’s family, adds the ministry.

At least 11 people were murdered in the attack, including a local Chabad rabbi.

Deputy FM to Australia: ‘How many times did we warn you’ an antisemitic attack was likely?

Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel responds harshly to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s condemnation of today’s deadly attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, calling his statement a “disgrace” and arguing that Israel had repeatedly warned that unless more was done against antisemitism, such an incident was bound to occur.

In a written statement posted to X, Albanese said that “the scenes in Bondi are shocking and distressing” and that his thoughts were “with every person affected.”

“Prime minister, this was a deadly terror attack on the Australian Jewish community. Just say it. Your statement is a disgrace,” responds Haskel. “How many times did we warn you an attack like this by Islamists was inevitable unless your government did more to eradicate anti-Jew hate?”

In a televised address, Albanese later condemned the shooting as “a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah.”

Sa’ar to Australian FM: Calls to globalize intifada ‘inevitably lead’ to attacks

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tells his Australian counterpart Penny Wong that Australia must take action against slogans like “Globalize the intifada,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “Death to the IDF,” which “inevitably lead to what we witnessed today,” according to Sa’ar’s office.

“The Australian government must take strong action against the use of these antisemitic calls,” Sa’ar says during a call initiated by Wong.

“Since October 7, there has been a surge in antisemitism in Australia,” Sa’ar tells her, “including violent incitement against Israel and Jews in the digital and public spheres, including comparisons of Israel to the Nazis and to the Holocaust, as well as the burning of synagogues and Israeli flags, and marches featuring explicit expressions of hatred.”

“I also said that security for the Jewish community in Australia will be achieved only through a real change in the public atmosphere,” Sa’ar writes on X.

Chabad rabbi killed in Bondi Hanukkah massacre was ‘warm, well-liked’

The Chabad rabbi who was killed in the terror attack at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach was “a warm individual, full of energy and very well liked,” a spokesperson for the movement says.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi in Sydney, was one of at least 11 killed in the terror attack. At least 13 were seriously injured.

According to Chabad, the 40-year-old rabbi was born in England, and studied at Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in Brunoy, France. He received his rabbinic ordination at the central Lubavitch yeshiva in Crown Heights.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was murdered in the terrorist attack in Sydney during Hanukkah, leaves behind a wife and four children. pic.twitter.com/4BKcs6xttT

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 14, 2025

Schlanger is survived by his wife and children, including a 2-month-old baby.

In an interview about Australia’s rising antisemitism on the Chabad website in March, Schlanger encouraged Jews to stand proudly in the face of hatred.

“My car — emblazoned with mitzvah symbols — is a living example of pride and resilience,” he said then.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was among the 11 murdered at the terror attack at the public menorah lighting and Chanukah event in Australia, had this post pinned to his account.
His call was that in the face of darkness, the way forward is to “be more Jewish, act more Jewish and… https://t.co/FfLJJejJCm

— Chabad.org (@Chabad) December 14, 2025

He encouraged others to embrace their Jewish identities more strongly as a response to growing hate.

“Be more Jewish, act more Jewish and appear more Jewish,” he said at the time.

“Now it’s our turn to step up and live that out,” the spokesman says.

Lapid: Opposition will not cooperate with government’s Oct. 7 ‘cover-up committee’

The opposition will not play ball with the coalition’sdesired alternative to a state commission of inquiry into the failures of October 7, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares, after Likud MK Ariel Kallner presents his proposed bill to establish a so-called “national state investigation committee.”

“I am announcing in advance that the opposition will not cooperate with the coalition’s proposal to establish a cover-up committee for October 7,” Lapid says in a statement shortly after Kallner unveiled the latest version of his plan.

Kallner’s bill also drew condemnations from Avidgor Liberman’s hawkish Yisrael Beytenu party, which said it would “not allow the October 7 prime minister to establish a whitewashing committee” and claimed that Liberman has “conclusive evidence that Netanyahu was warned about the attack” that he will only present to a state commission of inquiry.

The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv argues that Kallner’s proposal was a “spit in the face” of the bereaved families and would be a “political circus.” Kariv called on all opposition party leaders to announce that “none of the opposition factions will cooperate with [this] despicable move.”

The plan, an earlier version of which was floated by Kallner in February, calls for 80 out of 120 MKs to appoint a six-member committee and its chairman. If there is no agreement after two weeks, both the opposition and coalition will be allowed to select three committee members apiece, who will be joined by four supervisory members who represent the bereaved families.

The proposal states that if either the coalition or opposition does not cooperate in the process or cannot settle on a candidate, the Knesset speaker will choose instead, giving the coalition effective control in the event of an opposition boycott.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett describes the bill as “a knife in the back of the bereaved families and the entire people of Israel,” stating that the bill boils down to one thing: “Those being investigated appoint the investigators.”

“The leadership will not escape its responsibility for over a decade of lost deterrence, the transfer of cash suitcases to Hamas, and the building of terror monsters on our borders,” he says.

He says things will different after elections, assuming he wins: “In the first meeting of our government, we will cancel this political committee and establish a state investigative committee according to the law.”

Rubio condemns Sydney attack, says US prayers are ‘with the Jewish community’

The United States “strongly condemns” the attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in which 11 people were killed and almost 30 wounded when gunmen fired on a Hanukkah event, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posts.

“Antisemitism has no place in this world. Our prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the people of Australia,” Rubio writes in a post on X.

Herzog to Australian Jewish leaders after Sydney attack: ‘Israel stands alongside you’

Following the terror attack at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, President Isaac Herzog spoke with David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, and Rabbi Levi Wolff, the rabbi of the Central Synagogue in Sydney, his office says in a statement.

“Please know that Israel stands alongside you,” Herzog tells Ossip, who then briefed the president on the attack, which resulted in at least 11 casualties, as well as “the immediate steps taken to place the community in lockdown amid ongoing security concerns,” according to the readout.

In his call with Wolff, Herzog states that “the Jewish people never give up. We are an eternal people, and the candles will be lit again as of tomorrow, again and again, all over the world.”

Wolff responds: “We have shown over the years that no one can hold us down, and we will move on stronger.”

Bloodied but ‘okay,’ Arsen Ostrovsky, who just moved from Israel to Sydney, describes ‘blood gushing in front of me’ on Bondi Beach

Bandaged and his face covered in blood, Arsen Ostrovsky, an international human rights lawyer who recently moved from Israel to Sydney to work with the local Jewish community, has described the deadly terror attack as it unfolded around him and his family.

In an interview with Australian television, Ostrovsky, who chairs the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council in Sydney, describes the onslaught: “I was here with my family. It was a Hanukkah celebration. There were hundreds of people. There were children, there were elderly. Families enjoying themselves. Children, kids, at a festival, playing. Then all of a sudden, it’s absolute chaos. There’s guns, fire everywhere, people ducking. It was absolute chaos. We didn’t know what was happening, where the gunfire was coming from.”

“I saw blood gushing in front of me,” he goes on. “I saw people hit, saw people fall to the ground. My only concern was, Where are my kids? Where are my kids? Where’s my wife? Where’s my family?”

“I lived in Israel the last 13 years,” he continues. “We came here only two weeks ago to work with a Jewish community, to fight antisemitism, to fight this bloodthirsty, ravaging hatred.”

My friend Arsen Ostrovsky, injured in the horrific, bloody attack in Sydney on a Jewish community Hanukkah celebration: pic.twitter.com/4iUAWdAYig

— Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) December 14, 2025

Recalling Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in Israel, he says: “We’ve lived through worse. We’re going to get through this, and we’re going to get the bastards that did this.”

Asked whether he saw the gunmen, Ostrovsky replies: “I did. I saw at least one gunman firing, with what looked like a shotgun, firing randomly in all directions. I saw children falling to the floor, elderly…”

“It was an absolute bloodbath, blood gushing everywhere. October seventh, that’s the last time I saw this,” he notes. (Ostrovsky has described being at Kibbutz Be’eri days after the Hamas onslaught.)

“I never thought I would see this in Australia. Not in my lifetime… On Bondi Beach, of all places, this iconic place.”

Asked about his family, he says: “My children, my wife is safe, thank God. They’re okay. They managed to get away. But I didn’t know where they were. There’s no greater fear, no greater horror, [than] not knowing where your family is. They’re okay. I’ll be okay.”

“I got hit in the head, I’m bleeding, I’ve lost blood,” he says. “There are people around me that are far worse. I’ll be okay. We’ll be okay as a community,” he adds, insisting that the hatred will be defeated.

Ostorovsky told the Daily Mail that “a bullet grazed my head” and “doctors said it was a miracle I survived.”

Hero who disarmed Sydney Hanukkah event terrorist named as passerby Ahmed al Ahmed

A bystander who tackled and disarmed a gunman during a terror attack on a Hanukkah event in Sydney is named as Ahmed al Ahmed.

Dramatic footage showed the 43-year-old fruit store owner wrestling the weapon from one of the two gunmen.

His cousin tells 7News that the father of two was shot twice.

“He’s in hospital and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside,” says the man named only as Mustafa. “We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero 100 percent.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the act of bravery as “the pinnacle of Jewish heroism.”

תיעוד דרמטי מסידני: אדם נאבק באחד המחבלים חוטף את הנשק – ויורה@asafroz15 pic.twitter.com/cQi1u1Q4zb

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) December 14, 2025

After Bondi Beach terror attack, public Hanukkah lightings set to go ahead in UK, France, South Africa

Public Hanukkah candle-lightings in most Jewish communities will go ahead as planned, despite increased fears in the wake of the terror attack at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach near Sydney, in which at least 11 people were killed.

All events in France will proceed as scheduled with additional security by police, Yonathan Arfi, president of the CRIF, which represents Jewish institutions in France, tells The Times of Israel.

In the UK, all events will go ahead as scheduled, with the understanding that things could change if necessary, says The Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Hanukkah events in South Africa will likewise proceed with additional security, a representative of that community says.

Chabad events around the world will continue as planned, a spokesman for the movement says.

“It’s moments like these that we need more light, more energy, more confidence,” the spokesman says. “We need to stand strong and tall. That’s the call to action that Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the Chabad rabbi murdered in today’s attack, lived by.”

Suspect in Bondi Beach Hanukkah terror attack named; police said to be raiding his home

A suspect in the deadly terror shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney’s Bondi Beach has been identified as Naveed Akram, an unnamed senior law enforcement official tells Australia’s ABC News.

The official says that a raid is underway at Akram’s Sydney home.

Police have said that one of the two gunmen was shot and killed at the scene, while the second was critically injured. ABC News says it is unclear which is Akram.

Mossad warned Australia over threats to Jewish community — report

The Mossad intelligence agency gave Australia multiple warnings over threats to the country’s Jewish community, Israeli security sources tell the Kan public broadcaster.

Earlier, the New South Wales Police chief denied that there was a specific warning.

“If the police had had intelligence that there was a risk to the community or to this event, we would’ve taken significant action,” said Commissioner Mal Lanyon.

Likud MK presents outline for government Oct. 7 probe in place of independent state commission

Likud lawmaker Ariel Kallner presents the main principles of his outline for a proposed “national state investigation committee” into the failures of October 7, in place of an independent state commission of inquiry.

The plan, an earlier version of which was floated by Kallner earlier this year, calls for a majority of 80 out of 120 MKs to appoint a six-member committee and its chairman. If there is no agreement after two weeks, both the opposition and coalition will be allowed to select three committee members, who will be joined by four supervisory members representatives of bereaved families.

The proposal states that if either the coalition or opposition does not cooperate in the process or cannot settle on a candidate, the Knesset speaker will choose instead, giving the coalition effective control in the event of what is likely to be an opposition boycott.

Any two members of the committee would be empowered to summon any person or investigate any entity, and all discussions would be broadcast live.

In a booklet explaining his proposal, Kallner writes that the proposal is intended to provide the probe with broad public approval, arguing, in the face of polling to the contrary, that a state commission of inquiry, whose members would be chosen by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, would not enjoy public support.

“Instead of appointing a committee by one controversial individual, who heads a judicial system that is at an unprecedented low in terms of public trust, the establishment of a committee would be done in an equitable manner by those elected by the people. This would give the committee and its conclusions the broad public trust it needs,” he writes.

The proposed bill is reportedly backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who has argued strongly against a state commission of inquiry — and was formulated with the input of Justice Minister Yariv Levin. The bill has not yet been approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation but will reportedly be on its agenda in the coming weeks.

Netanyahu has long opposed the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the onslaught – the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust and the worst disaster in modern Israeli history – despite polls that have consistently indicated a clear majority of Israelis support it, including the families of hostages and those murdered during the attacks and killed in the subsequent war.

Kallner’s proposal is not the only one being advanced by the coalition. Last month, the government voted to establish its own probe into the failures surrounding the Hamas invasion and massacre.

Despite being touted as an “independent” investigation, the government commission’s mandate will be determined by cabinet ministers, and the government will strive for its makeup to receive “as broad public approval as possible,” the government decision noted.

United Hatzalah sending delegation to Sydney in wake of terror attack at Hanukkah event

A delegation of United Hatzalah medics will be traveling to Sydney, Australia, today to assist local authorities in the aftermath of today’s terror attack that targeted a family-friendly Hanukkah gathering for the local Jewish community of Bondi Beach, a UH spokesperson says.

The delegation, led by senior members of the organization’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit, will work to provide support and assistance to both the Jewish community and the wider public affected by the devastating incident. It will include a multidisciplinary team with extensive experience in responding to terror attacks and large-scale disasters.

The UH teams have been deployed to crises around the world, including the June 2021 Surfside condominium building collapse in Miami, earthquakes in Morocco and Turkey, and the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh in October 2018, in which 11 people were killed.

Starmer: Bondi attack ‘sickening’ antisemitism; Qatar condemns but avoids mentioning Jews

Hanukkah “should be a time of celebration and joy,” says British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in response to the deadly shooting in Sydney. “The news that the Bondi beach attack was an antisemitic terrorist attack against Jewish families at a Chanukah event is sickening.”

“My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” he writes on X. “The United Kingdom will always stand with Australia and the Jewish community. We are actively working with the [Community Security Trust] on the policing of Chanukah events.”

Qatar’s Foreign Minister puts out a statement expressing its “condemnation and denunciation” of the attack, without mentioning antisemitism or that the attack targeted Jews.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates the State of Qatar’s firm stance against violence, terrorism, and criminal acts, regardless of the motives or reasons,” says Qatar’s statement.

“France extends its thoughts to the victims, the injured and their loved ones,” writes French President Emmanuel Macron on X. “We share the pain of the Australian people and will continue to fight relentlessly against antisemitic hatred, which hurts us all, wherever it strikes.”

After Sydney attack, Netanyahu says he warned Albanese that Canberra ‘pours fuel on antisemitic fire’

Speaking hours after a deadly shooting terror attack in Sydney at a Hanukkah celebration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu notes that he sent a letter in August to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, charging Canberra with pouring fuel “on this antisemitic fire.”

Paraphrasing his letter, Netanyahu says Albanese’s policies, which include recognizing a Palestinian state, encourage “the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets. Antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent. You must replace weakness with action.”

Netanyahu says the attack was “awful. Cold-blooded murder. The numbers of casualties is unfortunately rising every minute. We saw the depths of evil. We also saw the pinnacle of Jewish heroism,” he says, pointing out a bystander he says was Jewish, who was filmed wrestling a weapon out of the hands of one of the attackers.

“We are in a battle against global antisemitism and the only way to fight it is to denounce it and to fight it,” Netanyahu continues. “There is no other way. That’s what we are doing in Israel. The IDF and our security forces, with our government and our nation, we will continue to do this.”

In an oblique attack on the Australian government, Netanyahu says “we will continue to denounce those who do not denounce, but encourage. We will continue to demand from them to do what is demanded of leaders of free nations. We will not give up, we will not bow our heads, we will continue to fight as our ancestors did.”

Netanyahu makes his comments ahead of a special weekly cabinet meeting in the southern city of Dimona, to mark an agreement between the government and the municipality in which over NIS 100 million ($31 million) will be allocated in the coming year to the city.

IDF confirms carrying out 3 drone strikes targeting Hezbollah in south Lebanon

The IDF confirms carrying out three drone strikes in separate areas of southern Lebanon today, targeting three Hezbollah operatives.

According to the military, the operatives were involved in restoring Hezbollah infrastructure, “and their activities constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Lebanese media reported strikes against vehicles in Yater, Safad al-Battikh, and Jouaiya, with at least two dead.

Australia’s Albanese says Sydney attack ‘an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese decries the terror attack in Sydney’s Bondi Beach as “an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism.”

At least 11 people were killed when two gunmen targeted a Hanukkah event.

“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith — an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says in a televised address.

“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian,” he says.

Palestinian dies after months in Israeli prison, PA says

A Palestinian prisoner has died in administrative detention at Israel’s Ofer prison in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority’s prisoners’ affairs office says.

He is named as Sakher Zaoul, 26 of Hussan, near Bethlehem. He was under administrative detention — meaning he was being held without charge — since June 11, the PA agency says.

استشهاد المعتقل صخر أحمد زعول من حوسان غرب بيت لحم في سجون الاحتلال

التفاصيل : https://t.co/bLYpkUvlGY#فلسطين #عاجل #القدس #الخليل #رام_الله #السعوديه_فلسطين #الفيفا #ابو_مرداع #المغرب_سوريا #الخميس_الونيس #الرياض #امطار_الكويت #لبنان #سوريا_المغرب #بنفيكا #الاتحاد_الدولي… pic.twitter.com/HHPJKXW8MT

— شبكة فلسطين للأنباء (@shfanews_net) December 14, 2025

The agency cites Zaoul’s family as saying he had no chronic illnesses and that his brother Khalil is also in Israeli prison.

Zaoul is the 86th Palestinian prisoner that the PA has identified as having died in Israeli jail since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, the PA agency says. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees prisons, has boasted of reducing living conditions for inmates to their bare minimum.

The statement does not specify what Zaoul died of, but accuses Ben Gvir of overseeing a policy of abuse that is “slowly executing” Palestinian prisoners. It does not say when Zaoul died, but notes that its comes four days after the death in Israeli custody of Palestinian prisoner Abdelrahman al-Sabateen.

A spokesman for the Israel Prison Service does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lebanese media reports 3rd Israeli drone strike

Lebanese media reports a 3rd Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon a short while ago, in the town of Jouaiya.

The strike reportedly targeted a vehicle.

According to Lebanese media, two earlier strikes in Safad al-Battikh and Yater each killed one person.

مشاهد اضافية للغارة الاسرائيلية المعادية التي استهدفت بلدة جويا قبل قليل pic.twitter.com/dvgCqUYqQu

— nbnlebanon (@nbntweets) December 14, 2025

Rocket sirens sound in Gaza border communities; IDF says false alerts

Rocket sirens sound in the Gaza border communities of Kfar Aza and Saad.

The IDF later says they were false alerts.

Earlier, false alarms sounded in Mefalsim due to IDF activity in the area.

‘I don’t know what happens’ to Australian Jewry now, says Zionist Federation head after Hanukkah attack

The mass shooting at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach is likely to change the rules of the game for Jews in Australia, says Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia.

“I’m trying to process what impact this is going to have on the Jewish community of Australia,” Leibler tells The Times of Israel. “This may be the worst attack on Jews anywhere in the world since October 7, and it’s the second-worst mass shooting in Australian history. I don’t know what happens now.”

A lot of people were already contemplating leaving Australia, and this is going to accelerate that, Leibler says.

He says that Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has failed to rein in rising antisemitism, partially due to his ideological opposition to Israel.

“This is a government that cannot understand what this means and disconnect it from the fact that they’ve demonized the State of Israel,” he says. “The prime minister can’t bring himself to get up and say Jews in Australia shouldn’t be held accountable for the actions of the Israeli government.”

This post has been updated.

Woman says she hid with child in freezer as gunmen attacked nearby Hanukkah event in Sydney

A woman who was at a nearby venue when gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, killing at least 11 people, says she hid with a child in a freezer as people fled the scene of the terror attack.

“My heart is still pounding very hard,” Livnat Avrahami, an Israeli citizen who grew up in Australia and was attending a bar mitzvah at a venue right next to where the attack was carried out, tells Channel 12 news.

They suddenly heard the gunfire, Avrahami continues, saying, “I was certain it was fireworks. I said, there’s no way, this is Australia, it doesn’t work like this here.”

“They started closing the doors of the venue, but we could hear the gunshots very clearly. And we suddenly realized that something had gone completely off the rails,” she says.

She says that children “started running in all directions — they weren’t with their parents at all,” leading her to run after one child who “was completely hysterical.”

“I took him and brought him into a cold-room freezer that was nearby. We went inside for a few minutes and we waited,” she says, until a woman who worked in the area came and directed them to leave, saying it wasn’t safe to stay.

“While the gunfire was still continuing,” she says, they ran about 150 meters to a nearby police station. Despite the station being so close by, local authorities did not seem to have a handle on the situation, she adds. “Everyone was screaming, everyone was in a state of hysteria.”

She says the shooting “went on for minutes,” and that nearly an hour after the attack began, friends of hers were still locked inside the bathrooms of a nearby hotel, and it took a long time until they were evacuated from the area with their children.

“I couldn’t believe this was happening — and that I was in Australia. I felt a kind of fear that I never felt in Israel, even with all our wars. I was simply in a state of hysteria. Honestly, it was horrific,” she says.

Bondi Beach eyewitness: ‘I told my wife, Run! She grabbed our daughter. I grabbed my son. We hid as the bullets flew over our heads’

Haim Levy, who was at Bondi Beach, tells Channel 12 that he was sitting with his wife, son and daughter when the shooting started at the Hanukkah event.

“I suddenly saw smoke and heard cracks [of gunfire]. I couldn’t tell if it was into the air or at the crowd. But it was immediately clear that something [terrible] was happening.”

“I told my wife, ‘Run!’ She grabbed our daughter. I ran with my son. I hid with my son behind a car.  If you see the footage of the terrorists near a bridge, you’ll see there were cars parked there. For about 20 minutes, we heard gunfire over our heads. After about 20 minutes, I managed to jump over a fence (with my son) and get to our car, find my wife, and speed home.”

Levy, who says he grew up in Israel, decries the “insane antisemitism” in Australia now. “It was clear something like this would happen. I never imagined I’d be there with my wife and children.”

He blames the Australian government for “abandoning” the Jewish community.

He says his son, aged two, was crying as they hid, and he tried to silence him for fear that the terrorists would hear and come and kill them. “Thank God we survived, when bullets were flying in all directions… It seemed never-ending.”

Hamas leader claims terror group’s arms ‘guaranteed’ by international law

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya says the group’s arms are “a right guaranteed by international law” and rejects the potential use of an International Stabilization Force meant to secure the Strip and advance the disarmament of terror groups, as envisioned by US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive ceasefire plan.

In a speech marking the 38th anniversary of Hamas’s establishment, Hayya says the ISF should be limited to “maintaining the ceasefire and separating the parties along the Gaza Strip’s border,” according to written comments published by Hamas.

“We affirm that the resistance and its weapons are a legitimate right guaranteed under international law to all nations under occupation,” says Hayya. “We are open to studying any proposals to preserve this right while guaranteeing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and self-determination for our Palestinian nation.”

The ISF is part of the plan’s second phase, which was enshrined by a UN Security Council resolution last month. The plan suggests a “credible pathway” to Palestinian self-determination and statehood could be possible as a demilitarized Gaza is rebuilt and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority “faithfully” reforms itself so that it is deemed competent to take over the Strip from international forces.

Hayya, in his speech, calls for Hamas and Fatah, which controls the PA, to “reach common ground and agree on a joint national program,” including “reviving Palestinian political life via the ballot box,” suggesting his group seeks to continue ruling the Strip even if under the confines of the Trump plan. The last Palestinian national elections, in 2006, saw Hamas beat out Fatah.

Hayya hails the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023 that sparked the war, and thanks Arab and Muslim countries that have contributed humanitarian aid to Gaza, praises Russia and China for their pro-Palestinian stance at the UN Security Council and salutes “those who supported our people in the city squares, streets and universities,” referring to widespread anti-Israel protests in Western countries, many of which have been linked to increases in antisemitic rhetoric and attacks on Jews.

Improvised explosive device found in car linked to gunman, Sydney police say

Australian police say an “improvised explosive device” has been found in a car linked to a suspect in a deadly terror attack targeting a Jewish community event at Bondi Beach.

“We have found an improvised explosive device in a car which is linked to the deceased offender,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon tells a news conference.

Death toll rises to 11 in Sydney terror attack targeting Jewish community Hanukkah event

Police say the death toll has risen to 11 in the shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, with the attack designated as a “terror incident” targeting the Australian Jewish community.

Mal Lanyon, the chief of New South Wales police, says that in addition one of the gunmen was killed on the scene. A second suspect has been arrested.

“As a result of the circumstances of the incident… I declared this to be a terrorist incident,” Lanyon says.

NSW Premier Chris Minns says the “incident represents some of our worst fears about terrorism.”

Ministry accuses Australian government of encouraging attacks on Jews

The Diaspora Affairs Ministry says the Australian government bears responsibility for the deadly shooting attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, claiming that Canberra “is doing everything in its power to ensure that Australian Jews cannot live safely, peacefully, and securely as Jews in their own country.”

Condemning the “brutal act of terror targeting Jews who had gathered to mark the lighting of a Hanukkah candle,” the ministry in a statement claims that “the blood of the victims is on the hands of the Australian government.”

“Since October 7, instead of standing firmly and unequivocally alongside the State of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East and the frontline of the free world against jihadist terrorism, the Australian government has chosen a policy of weakness, restraint, and appeasement,” states the ministry, which is led by hardline Likud minister Amichai Chikli

The statement accuses Canberra of “appeasing the enemies of Western civilization.”

“All reports, research, and data held by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry show that Australia has become one of the Western countries experiencing the sharpest and most alarming rise in antisemitic incidents since October 7,” the statement continues. “Repeated warnings, appeals, and attempts to engage with the authorities have been met time and again with a wall of indifference, while the government continues a policy of appeasement toward jihadist elements and movements driven by hatred, the destruction of Israel, and the denial of the Jewish people’s very right to exist.”

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox political leaders condemn antisemitism after deadly Bondi Beach attack

The heads of the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties condemn today’s shooting attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, noting that Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary, was among the nine people killed.

“I am deeply shaken to my core by the heinous attack in Sydney against Jews, during a Chabad Hanukkah event. The horrific scenes recall the Simchat Torah massacre,” says Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, referring to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel. “I send condolences to the families of the murdered, including the family of Chabad emissary Rabbi Eli Schlanger, of blessed memory, and I pray for the recovery of the injured.”

He expresses solidarity with “Chabad emissaries who work selflessly around the globe” despite “threats and terror,” says other countries that have seen outbursts of anti-Jewish sentiment should take notice.

“The wave of antisemitic incitement that has risen in Australia erupted today into a despicable murder and serves as a stark warning to countries that grant legitimacy to hatred of Jews,” he says.

Chabad has thousands of emissaries around the world, including in far-flung locales with few observant Jews. In the last two decades, Chabad rabbis in the United Arab Emirates and India have been killed in targeted attacks.

Also mentioning Schlanger by name, United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf also offers prayers for the wounded and killed, declaring that “antisemitism is the same everywhere. Hatred of Jews knows no borders and erupts wherever incitement and terror are met with a blind eye.”

Australian PM convenes security cabinet, calls Bondi attack ‘shocking and distressing’

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calls the scenes after the deadly shooting at a Sydney Hanukkah event “shocking and distressing,” as he convenes the national security committee.

“Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives,” writes Albanese in a statement. “My thoughts are with every person affected.”

He says he has spoken with the head of the Australian Federal Police and the premier of New South Wales. “We are working with the NSW Police and will provide further updates as more information is confirmed,” Albanese says.

Albanese is meeting with his national security committee and will speak from Parliament House afterward, says Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

Whereas Albanese does not mention the Jewish community or antisemitism in his statement, former prime minister Tony Abbott calls the attacks “a horror for the victims and a massive escalation of the hatred directed at Australia’s Jewish community.” New South Wales police have yet to confirm the Hanukkah event was targeted.

Deputy said suspected of trying to paper over probe into top IDF lawyer over Sde Teiman leak

Police investigators increasingly suspect that the deputy to ex-military advocate general Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi covered up her role in the leaking of surveillance footage from the Sde Teiman detention, Haaretz reports.

Deputy Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Gal Asael, who led an unsuccessful internal probe into the Sde Teiman leak affair before police became involved, has been questioned as a suspect several times since the investigation into the affair began.

Police reportedly believe that Asael deceived Hagai Harush, a senior aide to the attorney general, by reporting back to him about investigative actions he never actually carried out, with the goal of avoiding a real investigation into Tomer-Yerushalmi.

A source familiar with the investigation tells Haaretz that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who has been attacked by coalition lawmakers due to her office’s oversight of the failed internal probe, is not a suspect in the case.

“There is no indication that the attorney general was involved or knew of the leak or the investigation’s coverup,” says the source. “The circle of lies remains within the military advocate general’s office.”

The affair concerns the leaking of surveillance footage purporting to show IDF troops severely abusing a Palestinian detainee. Five have been indicted in the alleged abuse.

The investigation into the leak itself is expected to conclude in the coming days, Haaretz reports.

Australian Jewish Affairs Council: Warnings were ignored ahead of deadly shooting attack

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) says it is “horrified” by the deadly shooting at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach, noting that the organization had warned of the potential for violence.

“This is not just a terrible day for the Jewish community, for Bondi, and for Sydney but for all of Australia, and for the values we hold dear, that are the bedrock of what for so long has been our inclusive, harmonious society,” says AIJAC Executive Director Colin Rubenstein in a statement. “We are horrified by what has unfolded. Our immediate thoughts are with those killed and injured and their families, and with all those who witnessed this horrendous crime.”

AIJAC has warned for years that “the unceasing antisemitic vitriol on our streets would evolve into antisemitic violence if left unchecked,” Rubenstein says. “We have warned that verbal abuse becomes graffiti, becomes arson, becomes physical violence, becomes murder.

“This is the outcome of the calls we have heard far too often at marches through our cities to globalize the intifada and that all Zionists are terrorists,” Rubenstein adds. “Our governments and authorities must act to end this hateful incitement.”

At least one said killed as Israeli drone strikes reported in southern Lebanon

Lebanese media report two separate drone strikes in the south of the country, allegedly by the IDF, with at least one person killed.

One drone strike targeted a motorcycle in Yater, killing one, according to Lebanese media.

A second strike targeted a car near the village of Safad al-Battikh in southern Lebanon, reports say.

#عاجل

مسيَّرة إسرائيلية تستهدف سيارة عند أطراف صفد البطيخ جنوبي لبنانhttps://t.co/DzhJPXBWgu pic.twitter.com/DgrIe6ubTZ

— Annahar النهار (@Annahar) December 14, 2025

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Australian Jewish Association CEO says Bondi shooting ‘entirely foreseeable’

The head of Australia’s Jewish Association says the deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi beach during a Hanukkah event was a “tragedy but entirely foreseeable.”

“The Albanese government was warned so many times but failed to take adequate actions to protect the Jewish community,” Robert Gregory tells AFP.

Israel’s ambassador to Australia: ‘I am in shock at this mass murder, and Australian government’s helplessness’ in face of threats to Jewish community

The number of dead in the Sydney shooting is “higher than what has been reported,” Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon tells Channel 12 news.

There was no concrete intelligence about an impending attack, says Maimon after speaking with Australian authorities, but there were warnings in the national threat assessment about the likelihood of terrorist attacks.

“Since October 7 we have witnessed a series of actions against the Jewish community and its institutions, a series that only intensified,” Maimon says, adding that he said publicly on numerous occasions that “if I were to wake up one morning and learn that a Jew was physically harmed, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

At the same time, he says that he is “in shock from this mass murder, and from the Australian government’s helplessness in preventing it.”

Maimon is in Israel, and is headed back to Australia.

A report published recently by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) said the country saw 1,654 incidents during the 12-month period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025 — about five times the annual average recorded in the decade prior to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that launched the war in Gaza.

That was less, however, than the 2,062 incidents recorded the previous year, during the year immediately following the Hamas attack, ECAJ noted, although the impact of the attacks on the community remained high.

Minister draws link between Sydney attack and Palestinian statehood recognition

The deaths of the victims of a mass shooting at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach are the fault of the Australian government’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state, declares Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

“Antisemitic terrorism knows no borders but the blood of the murdered is on the hands of the Australian government, which announced recognition of a ‘Palestinian’ state and legitimized terrorism against Jews,” the far-right minister argues in a statement expressing support for the local Jewish community.

Australia was one of several countries to announce recognition of a Palestinian state in September.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger among those killed in Bondi Beach shooting, Chabad says

Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary based in Sydney, has been identified as one of the nine killed in the mass shooting at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach, a spokesman for the movement says says.

At least nine people were killed in the attack, with the death toll expected to rise.

Chabad emissary Rabbi Eli Schlanger was murdered in the terror attack in Sydney, Australia.

May his memory be a blessing.. pic.twitter.com/s5nALHoF9w

— Nikolay Remizov (@Nikolrem) December 14, 2025

9 killed in shooting attack at Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, police say

Police say nine people have been confirmed dead in a shooting attack at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Law enforcement in New South Wales says additionally one of the gunmen was shot and killed and a second suspect is in critical condition.

New South Wales police say an additional 11 people were injured, including two police officers.

New Zealand Jewish Council ‘utterly sickened and horrified’ by Bondi Beach shooting

The New Zealand Jewish Council says it is “utterly sickened and horrified” by the mass shooting at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach.

“We do not know all the details, but we are haunted by the scenes we have seen, in a place familiar to and loved by so many of us,” the organization says in a statement. “We are in shock, and we pray for the innocent victims of this atrocity. We offer our full support to the Jewish community in Sydney and Australia.”

‘Writing was on the wall’: Top Israeli officials accuse Australia of ignoring antisemitism in run-up to attack

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says Australia was warned about potential attacks on Jews as senior Israeli government officials express horror over today’s shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, with some blaming Canberra for not doing enough to combat antisemitism.

“I’m appalled by the murderous shooting attack at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia,” tweets Sa’ar in English. “These are the results of the anti-Semitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the anti-Semitic and inciting calls of ‘Globalise the Intifada’ that were realized today. The Australian government, which received countless warning signs, must come to its senses.”

I'm appalled by the murderous shooting attack at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia.
These are the results of the anti-Semitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the anti-Semitic and inciting calls of “Globalise the Intifada” that were realized…

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) December 14, 2025

Sa’ars office adds that the minister spoke with David Ossip, the president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, to “convey his support to the community during this difficult time.”

The shooting took place as members of the local Jewish community were taking part in a Hanukkah celebration, although it remains unclear if the Hanukkah event was deliberately targeted.

“Failed and weak leadership on antisemitism led to Bondi,” tweets former prime minister Naftali Bennett, posting an image of a bloody pair of tzitzit. “Am Yisrael Chai.”

Failed and weak leadership on antisemitism led to Bondi.

Am Yisrael Chai. pic.twitter.com/GXyyj1f2hH

— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) December 14, 2025

In a separate statement, Bennett declares: “The writing was on the wall and the government turned a blind eye to it. I demand that the Australian government take immediate action to protect Jewish communities and deal with antisemitism with the utmost seriousness.”

“What starts with genocidal cries for the destruction of Israel, unsurprisingly ends with arson attacks on Synagogues and murderous terror shootings against Jews at a Hanukkah event,” posts Benny Gantz, the chairman of the opposition Blue and White party.

Echoing Bennett, he writes in English that “the writing was on the wall – and despite repeated warnings, the Australian authorities missed it once again.” He calls on Canberra to “take unprecedented measures to secure and protect their Jewish communities.”

Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer, a member of the far-right Religious Zionism party, writes that while visiting Australia he had witnessed “severe and troubling antisemitism, without an adequate response from the Australian government.”

“When you support terror in the Middle East, you get terror in your backyard. The massacre of Jews in Sydney is not fate; it’s the result of antisemitism that is allowed to grow unchecked,” agrees fellow Religious Zionism MK Ohad Tal.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads Religious Zionism, writes that the images coming out of Sydney are reminiscent of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and expresses his government’s “uncompromising demand that the Australian government deal firmly with the rising antisemitism in the country and protect its Jews.”

MK Gilad Kariv (The Democrats), chairman of the Knesset Diaspora Affairs Committee, likewise insists that “the Australian government must act decisively to ensure the safety of Australian Jews and to combat the scourge of antisemitism,” and says that his parliamentary panel will hold a discussion on the matter.

Hamas confirms military leader Saad killed, blames Israel for hit on second officer

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya confirms that Raad Saad, the group’s second-in-command in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday.

In a speech broadcast on Arabic media to mark the 38th anniversary of Hamas’s establishment, Hayya says Saad “was martyred alongside his brothers who were with him,” without specifying details.

Palestinian media reported a total of five people were killed by a strike on a car traveling along the coastal Rashid road in Gaza City yesterday.

Hamas also says interior security officer Lt. Col. Ahmed Zamzam was killed this morning by an Israeli-backed group under Israel’s orders, citing an initial investigation.

“The assassination was carried out by agents of the occupation under direct orders of the Israeli intelligence apparatus,” the Hamas interior ministry says in a statement. It adds that investigations are ongoing and that “the remaining perpetrators” are under pursuit.

The ministry said earlier that Zamzam was shot dead this morning by armed people in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, and that one suspect has been arrested.

Report: At least 10 killed in attack on Sydney Hanukkah event, with toll likely to rise

The death toll is likely to exceed 10 in the shooting attack at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, an unnamed local government official tells Sky News Australia.

Police tell BBC News there were “multiple fatalities” in the attack.

Thirteen people were taken to the hospital after the shooting, says the New South Wales ambulance service.

Justice minister urges government to ignore court annulment of attorney general’s sacking

Justice Minister Yariv Levin calls on the government to ignore the High Court ruling’s invalidating the government’s dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, a step that would lead to a major constitutional crisis.

“The government must totally reject this unlawful intervention into its authority, and insist on its right to work with an attorney general it trusts to help it realize its policies,” fumes the justice minister in a statement to the press.

“There is no court in the world” that would force a government to work with an attorney general it does not trust and whom it unanimously fired,” continues Levin.

“If anyone thought that the High Court had conservative judges, this morning’s ruling proves once again that there are [only] activists and extreme activists on the court,” he writes. The seven-member panel that struck down the government’s dismissal of the attorney general consisted of four justices widely perceived to be conservatives, including the court’s two most hardline advocates of judicial restraint.

Levin also insinuates that the High Court justices are involved in a conspiracy to obfuscate the criminal investigation into the Sde Teiman video leak affair, and tacitly alleges, not for the first time, that Baharav-Miara played a role in that scandal,.

“A heavy cloud hangs over the attorney general,” he charges, in reference to the affair regarding leaked footage of soldiers allegedly abusing a Palestinian detainee, which led to the military’s top legal official being pushed out of office earlier this year.

Melbourne Hanukkah event canceled after attack in Sydney

Following the mass shooting at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, a similar event scheduled in Melbourne has also been canceled.

The Chabad event was canceled “out of an abundance of caution,” not any specific warning, an announcement shared within the community says.

Footage shows unarmed bystander disarming gunman during Sydney Hanukkah event attack

Footage from the shooting at Bondi Beach near Sydney appears to show an unarmed bystander disarming one of the gunmen.

In the video, the man can be seen approaching one of the gunmen from behind a car, lunging at him, and pulling away his gun.

The bystander is seen aiming the gun at the disarmed gunman, who is then seen stepping backward.

Also in the clip, a second gunman can be seen opening fire on people from a pedestrian bridge.

Police say two suspects are in custody.

https://twitter.com/DrewPavlou/status/2000130875665895691?s=20

‘I saw at least 10 people on the ground and blood everywhere’: Witness to Sydney attack

A man who witnessed the shooting attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach says he saw at least 10 people lying on the floor.

“I saw at least 10 people on the ground and blood everywhere,” Harry Wilson, who witnessed the shooting, tells the Sydney Morning Herald.

There have been no formal updates from the authorities on the number of casualties.

Likud lawmakers bash High Court over cancellation of attorney general’s firing

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi calls on the government to ignore the High Court’s annulment of its decision to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, declaring that that is the only way “to save Israeli democracy.”

“This is a moment of truth for all of us. Checks and balances are needed against a golem that has risen up against its creator,” the Likud minister declares, arguing that the court’s ruling violated the law.

“The government must make a decision today: We do not accept the blatant intervention of the High Court of Justice at the very heart of the government’s authority,” he continues, saying the government should “definitively and in practice dismiss the attorney general, block her entry to government offices, and immediately appoint an acting replacement.”

“Only if we say no to High Court rulings that contradict the law will we be able to save Israeli democracy,” he says.

The court’s decision is also slammed by Likud lawmakers Tali Gotliv and Avichai Boaron.

In a tweet, Boaron says that the decision constitutes “yet another severe blow to the principle of separation of powers and to public trust in the court,” and calls for the creation of a new court to deal with administrative matters.

On the other side of the aisle, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid welcomes the court’s ruling.

“I commend the Supreme Court for unanimously accepting the Yesh Atid faction’s petition demanding preventing the illegal firing of the attorney general. We’ll continue to fight for the rule of law in Israel,” Lapid tweets.

Witness: ‘People were running in panic’ after Bondi Beach Hanukkah event shooting attack

An individual who was near the mass shooting at a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach near Sydney tells The Times of Israel he saw people running in panic away from the shooter.

“I heard multiple gunshots, but at first I thought it sounded like construction, with all the banging,” says the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Then I heard lots of sirens, and I saw tons of police cars and people running in panic.”

Reports say some 2,000 people were at the Chabad event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. Two suspects are in custody, New South Wales Police say.

“This is really scary for the entire community,” the source says.

Australian Jewish community leader decries ‘horrific’ shooting

Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, tells Sky News that the Sydney shooting was at an event at Bondi Beach celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, which began at sundown.

“This is the Jewish community at its best coming together to mark a happy occasion. If we were targeted deliberately in this way, it’s something of a scale that none of us could have ever fathomed. It’s a horrific thing,” he says, adding his media adviser had been wounded in the attack.

Herzog condemns ‘cruel’ shooting attack by ‘vile terrorists’ targeting Sydney Jewish community

President Isaac Herzog condemns the “cruel” shooting attack on a group of Jews at Sydney’s Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration event, calling on Canberra to fight against “the enormous wave of antisemitism” that he says “is plaguing Australian society.”

“Our sisters and brothers in Sydney, Australia, have been attacked by vile terrorists in a very cruel attack on Jews who went to light the first candle of Hanukkah,” Herzog says, speaking at an event at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

“We repeat our alerts time and again to the Australian government to seek action and fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society,” he adds.

“Our hearts go out to them…we pray for the recovery of the wounded, we pray for them, and we pray for those who lost their lives,” he says.

Reports say the attack was at a Chabad event for families, and there are multiple casualties.

IDF: Troops kill Palestinian knifeman during attempted attack in West Bank

The IDF confirms that troops shot and killed a Palestinian who tried to stab them at a junction near Hebron.

The army says no soldiers were injured in the attempted stabbing attack near the West Bank city.

BREAKING: Israeli occupation forces open fire on a Palestinian youth in the Ras Al-Jora neighborhood, Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/RZMESjW5np

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 14, 2025

‘Everyone panicked and ran’: Witness describes chaos as gunmen opened fire at Sydney Hanukkah event

An eyewitness to the shooting attack at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach describes the chaos when the gunmen opened fire.

“Everyone panicked and ran. They told us it was at a Chabad house,” the unnamed witness tells Channel 12 news.

Reports says some 2,000 people were at the Chabad event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. A flyer for the event advertised special activities for children.

Police say two suspects are in custody.

🇦🇺 The invitation to the Hanukkah event at the Chabad house in Bondi, which according to reports was the target of the shooting in Sydney. pic.twitter.com/ihBjbBdAqR

— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) December 14, 2025

Pysch nurse who buried patient alive in fatal ‘rebirth ceremony’ sentenced to 7 years

Edward Kachura, a psychiatric nurse, is sentenced to seven years in prison by the Haifa District Court after he was convicted in September of the negligent homicide of 17-year old Lital Yael Melnik in 2021.

The court cleared Kachura, 53, at the time of the murder charges against him, but convicted him of the lesser charge since he left Melnik alone after having helped her perform a “rebirth ceremony” where she was entirely buried in sand, along with a pipe meant to enable her to breathe.

The court also rejected the prosecution’s charge that the only possibility that caused Melnik’s death was a violent act that prevented her from taking her head out of the sand in which she was buried.

The court “emphasizes the severity” of Kachura’s actions, saying that instead of acting as the “responsible adult” who should have stopped the “rebirth ceremony,” he took part in it and also left Melnik when she was at least partially covered in sand without ensuring that she finished the ceremony unharmed.

In its sentencing, the court also emphasizes the additional crimes Kachura was convicted of, including having abused his position as a psychiatric nurse to establish an illicit sexual relationship with Melnik and the fact that he had “systematically violated” lower court orders prohibiting from from having contact with Melnik.

Palestinian shot during alleged stabbing attempt in Hebron — report

A Palestinian who allegedly attempted to stab soldiers near the West Bank city of Hebron a short while ago was shot, first responders say.

The IDF has not yet commented on the incident.

High Court unanimously annuls firing of attorney general

In a major decision, the High Court of Justice rules unanimously seven to zero to annul the government’s decision to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, asserting that the government failed to legally justify why it used a new process for firing her rather than the traditional one, and determining that the new system it designed was fundamentally flawed.

The ruling, written by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, is backed by the six other justices on the expanded panel, including the court’s two most trenchant conservatives, Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg and Justice David Mintz.

The government’s decision earlier this year changing the way an attorney general is fired “was approved in a hasty process,” and “without an appropriate factual or legal basis; without consulting with professional bodies; and without considering other alternatives,” the court rules.

This contrasted with the lengthy, years-long process involving a public commission that established the method for firing the attorney general in 2000 which the government abandoned earlier this year in order to fire Baharav-Miara, the court says.

The court decision means that Baharav-Miara will remain in office as the attorney general, despite the government’s opposition.

Reports of multiple casualties in shooting at Hanukkah event for families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach

There are reports of multiple casualties in a shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach during a celebration to mark the first night of Hanukkah.

Graphic footage from the scene shows people lying on the ground as others administer first aid.

An image shows a man holding up a tallit with a bullet hole and large bloodstain.

Jewish people who were at Bondi Beach during the shooting. One of them wounded, and his Talit is soaked with blood https://t.co/JZkvGALqcq pic.twitter.com/RNbU4BBQgM

— Guy Elster גיא אלסטר (@guyelster) December 14, 2025

The attack targeted a Chabad event for families, a witness tells Channel 12 news.

Army sets off false rocket alarm in Gaza border community

Rocket sirens that sounded in the Gaza border community of Mefalsim and at the nearby Nir Am shooting range moments ago were false alarms, the IDF says.

The alarms were apparently triggered by Israeli military activity in the area.

On Saturday, false alarms sounded in the community of Patish near Gaza.

Knesset lawmaker pauses committee meeting to check on son at Australia shooting site

Following reports of a mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, Knesset National Security Committee chairman MK Zvika Fogel (Otzma Yehudit) pauses a meeting of the panel to call his son, who is taking part in a Hanukkah event there.

Video posted by Israel National News journalist Hezki Baruch shows an anxious-looking Fogel on the phone with his son. According to Baruch, Fogel’s son and two of the son’s children were attending a Hanukkah event at the beach, which reports suggest may have been the target of the attack.

יו"ר הועדת לביטחון לאומי, ח"כ צביקה פוגל עוצר את הדיונים בועדה בעקבות ירי במסיבת חנוכה בסידני כדי לשוחח עם בנו שמשתתף במסיבה יחד עם שני נכדיו של ח"כ פוגל pic.twitter.com/5xnWknby9L

— חזקי ברוך (@HezkeiB) December 14, 2025

Police say 2 arrested after shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, reportedly targeting Hanukkah event

Police in New South Wales say two suspects are in custody after a shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, reportedly at a Hanukkah celebration.

“However, the police operation is ongoing and we continue to urge people to avoid the area,” law enforcement says in a statement.

Video showed two suspects opening fire from a bridge, apparently toward the event.

you can hear the many gunshots – people fleeing bondi beach https://t.co/BuACnE89aN pic.twitter.com/VXe0fyYey5

— Sina (@SinaHartung) December 14, 2025

Australia’s Albanese: ‘Active security situation’ at Sydney’s Bondi Beach

A spokesperson for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says officials are “aware of an active security situation in Bondi. We urge people in the vicinity to follow information from NSW Police.”

The statement comes as police respond to a shooting event at the famous Sydney beach, reportedly during a Hanukkah celebration.

Reports: Shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach as Hanukkah celebration taking place

Reports suggest there was a Hanukkah celebration taking place at Bondi Beach at the time of the shooting attack a short time ago.

According to the Walla news site, it is unclear if the Hanukkah event was deliberately targeted.

Footage from the scene appears to show two men with guns firing from a bridge.

There is no official update on casualties.

https://twitter.com/AustralianJA/status/2000114709509665273?s=20

Reports of shooting at Bondi Beach; police urge public to shelter in place

Police are responding to reports of a shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney.

Law enforcement calls on the public to avoid the area and shelter in place.

Hamas says senior internal security officer shot to death in central Gaza; one arrested

An officer in Hamas’s internal security forces was shot and killed in central Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp this morning, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry says.

Reports identify the assassinated officer as Lt. Col. Ahmed Zamzam and say one suspect has been arrested and the investigation is ongoing.

The statement says the officer was killed by “armed [people],” but does not identify them.

Jaffa cleric arrested for alleged incitement against Jews after Arab woman pepper-sprayed by Jewish assailants

Police say a cleric was arrested this morning in Jaffa on suspicion of inciting violence at a march yesterday to protest after a pregnant woman from the community was allegedly pepper-sprayed by Jewish assailants while she was driving her car in the city’s Ajami neighborhood.

The suspect, in his 30s, is not named.

“During the march, racist chants were heard that could cause a disturbance of order and harm public order,” police say.

“Later that night, the suspect was heard on social media calling for a disturbance of order, including racist chants against Jews,” police say.

Footage published by the Arab48 news site yesterday showed protesters marching to the site of the attack while chanting: “Tell the Shin Bet dogs, we’re not afraid of conflict.”

The woman went to hospital for medical checks after the attack. No arrests have been made in connection with the assault.

يافا: المئات يتظاهرون إثر اعتداء عنصري لمستوطنين على امرأة عربية وأطفالها ورشهم بغاز الفلفل

التفاصيل: https://t.co/88D7581jls pic.twitter.com/bHdKn1XMKv

— موقع عرب 48 (@arab48website) December 13, 2025

Girl aged around 3 dies after she was hit by vehicle in south

A girl aged around three was killed when she was apparently hit by a vehicle near Ararat an-Naqab, also known as Ar’ara Banegev, medics say.

The Magen David Adom emergency service says the young girl had serious injuries which relatives said were caused by the impact of a vehicle.

Israeli cybersecurity start-up Armis in talks to be bought by ServiceNow for up to $7 billion – report

ServiceNow Inc. is in advanced talks to purchase Israeli-founded cybersecurity startup Armis in a deal that could be worth up to $7 billion, Bloomberg reports.

The report cites a number of people familiar with the situation, who say that the deal could be announced in the coming days. However they note that the agreement could still fall apart or other bidders could announce.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Armis was founded in late 2015 to allow companies to adopt new connected devices — without fear of cyberattacks.

In 2020, Armis was acquired by US-based Insight Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm, in a cash deal that values the Israeli firm at $1.1 billion. The deal marked the largest ever for a private Israeli cybersecurity firm.

Man killed in overnight fire in Kiryat Malachi

A man in his 50s was killed in a fire in Kiryat Malachi overnight, the Magen David Adom emergency service says.

Medics declared the man’s death on the scene.

The blaze broke out in a four-story building on Menachem Begin Boulevard.

Over 200 ex-hostages, bereaved families sign letter demanding state probe into Oct. 7

More than 200 ex-hostages, relatives of former hostages, and family members of deceased hostages have signed a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding that he authorize the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, assault.

The letter is published by the October Council, a movement comprised of bereaved families demanding a state probe, on the 800th day since the Hamas-led invasion and massacre.

“We call on the Israeli government to stop evading, stop postponing, stop whitewashing, and establish a state commission of inquiry immediately,” the letter demands.

“We demand truth, justice, and accountability,” it continues. “If you have no intention of taking responsibility and establishing such a commission, as demanded by the majority of the nation, vacate your seats and let the nation decide.”

The signees state in the letter that they are demanding a transparent probe that examines every event of October 7, including “the collapse of the defense and intelligence systems, the unanswered calls for help, the hours-long abandonment of the Gaza border communities, and the abandonment of the civilians and soldiers to the inferno.”

In addition, they say the probe must also examine “what has happened since October 7: The manner in which decisions were made during negotiations for the return of the hostages, the reasons for repeated delays, the coordination between the political and military echelons, and the statements and actions of all public officials and their impact on the lives of the hostages, on their mental and physical health, the fate of those who were taken alive and were murdered in captivity, and the long wait for the return of the deceased hostages to their families.”

“A commission of inquiry is not a political tool. It cannot be composed of those who are the subjects of the investigation,” the letter states. “It must be transparent, professional, and have full authority to order investigations, question witnesses, examine documents, and reach clear conclusions, including the mandate to implement them.”

“Only such a body will be able to reach the full truth, not just that which is convenient to reveal.”

Among the letter’s signees are ex-hostage Yarden Bibas, whose wife Shiri and children Ariel and Kfir were murdered in captivity; Herut Nimrodi, the mother of slain hostage Tamir Nimrodi; and Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

United Airlines flight makes emergency landing outside DC due to engine failure

A United Airlines flight bound for Tokyo was forced to return to Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia after experiencing an engine failure during departure, the Federal Aviation Administration says.

A United spokesperson says the flight landed shortly after takeoff due to the loss of power in one engine. There were no reported injuries among the 275 passengers and 15 crew members aboard, the spokesperson says.

Photographs and videos posted to the social media site X show smoke billowing from near the runway at Dulles, which is located about 25 miles (40 km) from Washington, DC, and the closest international airport to the US capital.

The FAA says it will investigate the incident on United Flight 803, which involved a Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

A piece of the plane’s engine cover separated and caught fire, sparking a brush fire on the ground at the airport, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posts on X. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority says the fire was extinguished.

The flight will be rescheduled for later on Saturday on a different aircraft, a United spokesperson says.

United flight 803 returned to @Dulles_Airport on its way to Tokyo after the 777-200 reportedly lost an engine on the takeoff roll.

(📷: Noah Escobar) pic.twitter.com/5ZcOTM3Z8s

— Ryan Ewing (@FlyingHighRyan) December 13, 2025

Germany says authorities foiled Islamist plot to attack Christmas market

German authorities say they have arrested five men on suspicion of involvement in an Islamist plot to drive a vehicle into a Christmas market to kill and injure people.

An Egyptian, three Moroccans and a Syrian were detained on Friday over the plan to carry out the attack in southern Bavaria state, police and prosecutors say.

The Egyptian, aged 56, allegedly called in a mosque for an attack to be carried out on a market in the Dingolfing-Landau district “using a vehicle in order to kill or injure as many people as possible”, according to the statement.

The Moroccans — aged 30, 28 and 22 — allegedly then agreed to carry out the attack while the Syrian, 37, encouraged them.

Investigators suspect “an Islamist motive” for the plot.

All the suspects were brought before a magistrate on Saturday after their arrest and are in custody.

German authorities have been on high alert for attacks on Christmas markets after a car ramming attack last year on a market in the city of Magdeburg killed six and wounded hundreds.

Two killed, eight critically injured in Brown University shooting — Providence mayor

Two people have been killed and eight others are critically injured in a shooting at Brown University, the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island says.

Multiple people shot at Brown University as students and staff told to take shelter

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — Multiple people were shot in the area of Brown University, police say, as the school issued an active shooter alert and urged students and staff to take shelter during the second day of final exams.

Police do not immediately release details about the victims’ conditions or the circumstances of the shooting.

University officials initially told students and staff that a suspect was in custody, before later saying that was not the case and that police were still searching for a suspect or suspects, according to alerts issued through Brown’s emergency notification system.

The reported shooting occurred near the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the university’s School of Engineering and physics department. According to the university’s website, the building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms, and offices.

Active shooter puts Brown University campus on lockdown

An active shooter is on the campus of Brown University, the Ivy League school in the northeastern state of Rhode Island.

“There’s an active shooter situation near Barus and Holley. Brown and Providence Police are on scene,” the school says in an emergency alert, urging people to shelter in place.

Officials initially said a suspect was in custody, before saying that was not in fact the case, and police are still searching for a suspect or suspects.

A police officer warns members of the media to take cover in vehicles because the area is still an active scene. Officers carrying assault weapons and emergency vehicles line many of the streets surrounding the engineering school.

The prestigious university in Providence, near Boston, has about 11,000 students.