At least 16 people, including one child, were killed in a mass shooting targeting a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, according to New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon.

The attack occurred during the "Chanukah by the Sea" event marking the start of the eight-day Jewish festival, at Archer Park, a grassed area just north of the Bondi Pavilion, shortly after 6:47 pm local time, with over 1,000 people present at the beach event. It has been declared a terrorist incident by Australian officials.

Two gunmen, identified as a father and son, opened fire using long firearms; the 50-year-old father was shot and killed by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, a Pakistani national based in Sydney, was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

A bystander, identified as fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, was hailed as a hero for tackling and disarming one of the gunmen in video footage recorded during the attack. He was praised by NSW Premier Chris Minns.

The man's cousin, Mustafa al-Ahmad, told Australia's News 7 that Ahmed was shot once in the arm and once in the shoulder. The injuries came when the second gunman fired on Ahmed after he tackled the first man.

"He's a hero. One hundred percent a hero. Once we saw on social media, he's one hundred percent a hero," Mustafa told the outlet.

Police discovered two active improvised explosive devices in a vehicle linked to the deceased gunman, which were safely removed by a bomb disposal unit. And multiple properties were raided, including a home in Bonnyrigg and an Airbnb in Campsie.

The 50-year-old suspect was a licensed firearm holder with six guns legally registered to him, and police found six additional firearms at the scene. One of the suspects, the 24-year-old son, was reportedly known to Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, ASIO, but had not been deemed an immediate threat prior to the attack.

"There was very little knowledge of either of these men by the authorities," Lanyon said. "The person was determined to be entitled to have a firearms license and…the person had a firearms license for a number of years for which there were no incidents."

Among the victims was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the event, who had faced criticisms in the past for his support for Israel Defense Force(IDF) during their genociadal war in Gaza. He was identified by the Chabad organization and confirmed by multiple sources.

At least 42 people were injured, including 42 hospitalizations reported by NSW Health Minister Ryan Park, with seven in critical condition and two police officers among the injured.

The attack has drawn widespread condemnation from international leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who called it an "act of evil antisemitism," and King Charles III, who described it as a "dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack."

"An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian and every Australian tonight will be, like me, devastated on this attack on our way of life," Albanese said at a press conference. "There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. Let me be clear. We will eradicate it."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmersaid in an X post: "As we light the Chanukiah, our thoughts and prayers are with those murdered in the terrorist attack on Bondi beach today, their loved ones and the whole Jewish community. Light will always win over darkness."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog acknowledged the attack while speaking at an event in Jerusalem recognizing immigrants' extraordinary achievements on Sunday.

"At these very moments, 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 Chanukah on Bondi Beach," Herzog said. "Our hearts go out to them. The heart of the entire nation of Israel misses a beat at this very moment, as we pray for the recovery of the wounded, we pray for them and we pray for those who lost their lives."

Israeli officials were quick to lay blame for the deadly shooting in Sydney, Australia, at the feet of the nation's government, saying it had ignored "countless warning signs" of antisemitism.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced criticism online for suggesting that governments should clamp down on free speech to fight antisemitism. Critics argue that his genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza is the main cause of rising anti-Israel sentiment especially among Muslims. The PM had also initially lied about the identity of the hero who tackled one of the gunman, claiming he's a jew.

"We saw an action of a brave man – turns out a Muslim brave man, and I salute him – that stopped one of these terrorists from killing innocent Jews. But it requires the action of your government, which you are not taking," Netanyahu said at the meeting. "And you have to, because history will not forgive hesitation and weakness. It will honor action and strength.

In remarks to reporters at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump praised al Ahmed: "And in Australia, you probably read, it's been a very, very brave person, actually, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives. A very brave person who's right now in the hospital, pretty seriously wounded. So I have great respect to that man."

The incident marks a significant escalation in anti-Israel sentiment in Australia, which has seen a rise in hate incidents since the war in Gaza began in 2023.

Investigation of Sunday's attack is ongoing, with police saying no further suspects are at large.

A person of interest in the Saturday shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine others has been detained, according to Providence police. The incident occurred at about 4:00 p.m. in the Barus and Holley engineering building during final exams, with one of the victims reportedly involved in a Principles of Economics review session.

The gunman, described as a male dressed entirely in black and possibly wearing a dark camouflage mask, fled the scene on foot after opening fire in a first-floor classroom within the seven-story Barus and Holley building, which houses the School of Engineering and the Physics Department.

Surveillance footage released by police shows the suspect exiting the building on Hope Street, but it remains unclear if this individual is the same person detained.

The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson from Wisconsin, was taken into custody early Sunday morning at a Hampton Inn in Coventry, Rhode Island, following a tip from law enforcement. Authorities confirmed he was in possession of two firearms at the time of his arrest. The FBI and local police collaborated on the operation, which concluded with no further suspects sought.

Erickson is not currently enrolled at Brown University, and authorities are investigating his potential connection to the campus and his mental health history.

All victims, including the two deceased, were students at Brown University, though their identities have not yet been publicly released. One of the injured students, 18-year-old Spencer Yang, was shot in the leg while helping another student and is recovering in a Rhode Island hospital.

Brown University President Christina Paxson announced the cancellation of all remaining classes, exams, papers, and projects for the fall 2025 semester due to the tragedy.

A shelter-in-place order for the campus and surrounding areas was lifted at 5:42 a.m. Sunday, though access to certain areas remains restricted due to ongoing police investigations.

Federal and state officials, including President Donald Trump, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, expressed condolences and called for prayers.

American Journalist and commentator Tucker Carlson delivered a sharply critical monologue in a recent episode of his podcast, titled "Why Are We Defending Mass Murder in Gaza? Because Our Greatest Ally Demands It," in which he questioned the U.S. policy of unconditional support for Israel, accusing it of committing mass murder in Gaza and calling for a fundamental reevaluation of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

In the episode, which featured a visit to Palestinian refugees in Qatar and included a monologue on the moral and strategic failures of American foreign policy, Carlson argued that the U.S. has become overly aligned with Israel, to the point where no scenario exists where Washington would side with another nation over Israel, a relationship he described as a "moral and strategic catastrophe."

Carlson visited a Qatari facility housing approximately 2,000 Palestinian refugees from Gaza, including children with severe injuries and orphans, and said that he and his team had to "hold back tears" during the visit, describing the suffering as evidence of "the cruelty of the evil Israeli regime."

In the episode, Carlson proposed that countries like Russia, Venezuela, and Qatar—despite their differing political systems—could be more strategically beneficial allies for the U.S. based on resources, geography, and global influence, challenging the notion that Israel is the only viable ally.

Carlson specifically criticized the U.S. for its complicity, citing American-supplied weapons used in Gaza and questioning why the U.S. continues to fund a war that results in tens of thousands of civilian deaths, including children.

"Look at the bombing attack during the twelve day war on Tehran" Carlson said. "It was precise. They didn’t take out downtown Tehran. They took out IRGC leaders. They took out specific people. They knew exactly where they were. So the idea that they’ve killed tens of thousands of women and children non combatants accidentally is a lie. No, murdered them. They murdered them. It’s just a fact. You can call it whatever you want. Genocide. Everyone’s going, Why? It’s genocide. Okay. It doesn’t matter what you call it. That’s murder. You’re killing people on purpose."

The popular commenmtator also questioned the Israeli bombing of Qatar in September 2025, highlighting the contradiction of bombing a nation that serves as a key mediator in the conflict.

Carlson’s remarks were met with strong pushback, including from Senator Ted Cruz, who accused him of being influenced by Qatar and promoting a pro-Hamas narrative, though Carlson maintained his critique was based on factual evidence and moral responsibility.

During the show, Carlson also interviewed human rights expert Francesca Albanese, whgo was sanctioned by the United States after her report that Israel’s actions in Gaza may constitute genocide.

The viral Carlson's podcast episode has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate within the U.S. political right, particularly within the MAGA movement, over whether the U.S. should prioritize "America First" over "Israel First" foreign policy.