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.