How the Bondi Beach Bloodbath unfolded

Credit: Instagram/mian.ores – X

Families were munching on jelly-filled donuts and children holding balloons when the first gunshots pierced the sound of music in a park behind Bondi Beach.

Two gunmen dressed in black and carrying long-handled rifles turned the ‘Marine Chanukah’ into a war zone as they opened fire on hundreds. It was 6:47 p.m., just before sunset, when the white sand and clear water suddenly cleared. Abandoning thousands of towels, surfboards, and beach bags, fleeing in shorts and swimsuits.

At the festival, which organizers hoped would “fill Bondi with joy and light”, the attackers fired more than 50 shots in less than 10 minutes. Where moments earlier families had been queuing for ice cream, witnesses later described “bodies all over the floor”.

Chilling footage shows the attackers walking calmly towards the crowd from Campbell Parade over the white footbridge, firing one shot after another. Naveed Akram, 24, was seen aiming a black hunting rifle, reloading and turning to another target as festival-goers ran for cover.

Credit: X/@AustralianJA

“Suddenly, it’s total chaos,” said Arsen Ostrovsky, a Jewish leader who was struck in the head. “There are guns, fire everywhere, people laughing. We didn’t know where the gun was coming from.

“I saw blood pouring out in front of me, people lying on the ground. My only concern was: ‘Where are my children? Where is my wife?’ I saw the children fall to the ground.

On the beach, witnesses could only watch and run. Mike Ortiz, 30, pictured the crowd running toward him. “It happened so fast. Kids were crying, people were screaming,” he said.

Near the park, the victims hid behind palm trees or cars. Others were lying on the ground covered in blood when sirens went off and police rushed in. Nearby diners huddled under tables as restaurants went into lockdown, while lifeguards pulled swimmers from the water.

b’

‘

Lives were saved by acts of extraordinary bravery. Ahmed Al-Ahmad, a 43-year-old father and fruit shop owner, captured one of the gunmen. Footage shows him hiding behind a parked car before brandishing a gun and wrestling him.

Credit: X

People can be heard shouting “go back, go back” after the second gunman opened fire. Mr Al-Ahmad was shot twice in the hand and arm and was later taken for surgery.

Others sacrificed themselves to protect loved ones. Holocaust survivor Alex Kleitman was shot in the back of the head by his wife, Larissa. In the midst of the chaos, three-year-old Gigi, separated from her family, is shot by a festivalgoer named Jess.

About ten minutes after the attack began, police shot dead the assailant, who was later photographed lying face down on the bridge amid red cartridges, a gun and a backpack. Suspicious items including an improvised explosive device were found nearby. One suspect is confirmed dead, the other is in custody.

X/@bonusik28 via Reuters

Later, footage shows bodies strewn across the park. Emergency services tried to resuscitate abandoned prams and beside picnic benches. Survivors clutched blood-soaked tallits, religious prayer robes, mothers carried children wrapped in foil blankets, and injured victims were carried away on stretchers.

Among the dead was Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi, which opened a year ago as a welcoming community center. Rabbi Schlanger, a father of five, spoke earlier this year about the “resilience, continuity and enduring spirit of the Jewish people.”

Kobi Farkash, an Israeli backpacker, described the scene as “a sunny day turned into terror. Boom, and in a second, everything was over. I ran, heard children crying, people screaming. It reminded me of October 7 at the Nova festival in Israel.”

The massacre killed 16 people, injured 38, and left Sydney’s Jewish community reeling from one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in Australian history.

Try Telegraph Free Full Access today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus helpful tools and expert guides for your money, health and vacations.